Broken Glass
by AnotherStar
Summary: Yamato is a little bit...strange, to say the least, and Tai wants to know what excatly happened to the friend he hasen't seen in eight years. And why he's seeing things no one else can. Gory scenes, future Taito, violence, swearing, possible mushy scenes later on.
1. Chapter 1

**Whoa, no idea where this came from it's 12:30 pm, and I just had to write it! Geez, my brain is crazzy! If there's a lot of spelling mistakes, I'm very sorry!**

When I wake up, my entire body is shaking. I am greeted, of course, not by my father, but by some girl, dripping blood all over my floor. Her eyes are gone, at least, one is, the other is hanging out of it's socket, on her cheek. She is screaming something, although I can't hear what she is saying. She causes the tremors to get worse, and I scramble out of bed, and make a dive for my door. She reaches for me, and I forced myself out of her reach, and smash into the corner of my dresser. The skin breaks, and I cry out at the sudden pain, which causes my father to come flying into the room, and nearly smash me in the face with mybedroom door.

"What are you doing!? Are you okay?"

My father's tone changes as he notices the blood dripping down my stomach. I place a hand over the cut which is just above my left hip.

"Get out!"

I snap shoving him backwards and slaming the door in his face before he can notice the rest of healing marks on my exposed flesh. I hear him sigh, and walk away, and I do feel bad, but...Without looking at where No-Eyes is, I dig through my drawers and pull on a clean t-shirt and find clean pants before racing away into the bathroom. The entire time, my entire body convulsed. In the bathroom I open the cabinet, and look at the bottles, all with my name on them. They disgust me, but I know..I take the ones I know I need, and leave the rest. I'll regret it later, I'm sure. I pull the one little bottle of pills I know I'll need out, and then change, and brush my teeth. I leave the gross, sweaty pants I had slept in on the floor. I'm sure I'll hear about _that_ one, too. My father is at the table waiting for me, a plate of food infront of him, and a plate where he obviously expects me to sit. I sit down, and kind of push my food around, hoping he's not actually looking. I keep my eyes down, because No-Eyes has followed me out here.

"You need to eat, Yamato.."

"I will. When I'm hungry."

I say, already annoyed with life.

"What happened this morning?"

"I tripped."

I mutter, and vaguley hear a distant screech. They always seem to make themselves heard when they don't like what I'm doing. Whether it be lying, or trying to tell someone about them, or even just trying to sleep.

"In order for you to trip, you had to be running pretty fast.."

"I couldn't breathe, okay! Just fucking leave me alone."

I spit, pushing my plate away from me and jumping up. The plate goes far enough that it slides off the other end of the table and shatters on the floor, but I'm already gone, the front door slaming behind me. My father won't bother coming after me, so I don't even try running. Boy, am I surprised when he grabs me, and spins me around, and forces me back to the house. I fight the whole way and try and force him to let me go.

"Let me go!"

I scream, memories of _that _place flooding back. I try and pull away one last time at the same time my father lets me go, and I go flying back into our apartment and land on the ground pretty hard.

"Are you okay, Yamato? I'm sorry!"

My father is trying to help me up, and I yank away from him. I sit on the floor, shaking.

"I'm sorry, Yamato, but you can't do this to me again. Not now. You were doing so much better.."

I know my father didn't mean to hurt me, and I know it's mostly my fault, but I'd never let him know that.

"Go away."

I put my head on my knees to hide the world, although it's not my father I'm hiding from, but from Them. I should've known today would be tough. Today, I go to school for the first time in eight years. Most of it being done at _that_ place, or at home under my father's watchful eye.

"You have to get up, you have school."

"I'm not going, leave me alone!"

I yell at him. I don't move from where I am, and he doesn't try after that. I hear him walk away, and not long after, I hear him on the phone.

"No, I'm son's not feeling very well. I know today's my first day, but there's nothing I can do about it. I really am sorry. I'll make it up to you somehow, I swear."

I still don't move, or apologise. Or even want to apologise for that matter. After a few seconds, my father has a different tone, and is talking to someone else.

"Hello, my son Yamato Ishida was supposed to start today, but he's not feeling well, he won't be making it in today."

There's a long pause.

"Yes, thank you. I'm very sorry."

I sit still, and don't move. After what is probably hours later, my father approaches me, with his shoes on.

"Yamato, I need to go shopping, do you want anything?"

I don't anwser. I can feel Them staring at me, watching, waiting for me to give them their chance. So I ignore him.

"Do you want to come?"

Again, I say nothing. I hear my father leave, and I still stay excatly the way I am. And then, I can feel them, grabing at me, and touching me, I leap up and hurdle myself into the bathroom and slam the door. Automatically, I am looking for the pills that are supposed to take this away, and make me better. I take the necessary pills, and slowly open the bathroom door. They have retreated, if only slightly. I feel safe enough to move to my room, and grab my blanket, which I wrap around me like a cape, with a hood. I then go to my 'spot' and sit in my chair, and stare at a corner of the ceiling, where, of course, there is another one waiting for me. She opens her mouth in a hiss, and I snap my eyes shut. Oh dear God, what is wrong with me? When will this stop?


	2. Chapter 2

**If I don't get any reviews for this story after this chapter, I probably just won't bother finishing it. I'll try and fnish Whisper and Quarentine, though. Maybe. If I get some positive feed back on either of those. Dx**

**This chapter is extremely short because it's in Matt's dad's POV. And we get to meet TAI 3**

Tears sting at my eyes as I close the apartment door behind me. Leaving my son alone in the small place probably isin't the best idea, but I know he won't do anything too stupid, even if he manages to get himself off the floor in the middle of the hallway. I don't actually have to go shopping, I was hoping to make him move, to come out with me, so I could at least gague if he has any memories of this place. However, after I said it, I knew I actually had to go. I walk to my car, and unlock the doors. As I slide into the driver's seat the tears escape my eyes, and flow down my cheeks for a few minutes before I can get everything back under control. No parent should have to deal with this. I push thoughts of Yamato out of my head, and try to remember the way to the store. When I think I got it, I start my car, and put it into gear, and pull out of the parking lot. I only make one wrong turn on the way there, and I catch myself before things get too difficult. I park my car, and head inside the small store. I wander up and down the isles and debate on what I should get Yamato, if he'll even eat it. He hasn't been doing much eating, however he does keep water in his system, which I hope is enough. I'm more then aware of what someone in a hospital would think should Yamato ever be sick enough to end up there. His body is covered is brusies and cuts, that he simply blames on 'Them'.

"Mr. Ishida?"

I jump at the voice, and look up. I look straight into brown eyes.

"Uhm...yes?"

"It is you! It's me, Taichi!"

I study the young boy, the name not registering yet. The wild brown hair and tan skin...oh, Tai.

"Oh, hello, Tai."

"Are Matt and T.K here!?"

The boy gets over excited like a child, and I only wish my son could still do that. However, he hasn't gotten excited in close to seven years.

"Uhm, Matt's at home, only he'd rather Yamato now, and T.K lives with his mother.."

I tell the boy.

"Cool! I bet Matt's going to my school then!"

The brunette prattles on, and I actually have to tell him I'm late, and Matt's expecting me before he lets me go. I pay for the two or three things I had in my hands, and make my way back home, expecting to find Yamato still on the floor where I left him. He's not there. He's curled up in his chair, eyes clamped shut.

"Matt?"

I venture. The boys eyes snap open and he looks at me, then up at the corner, then back at me again. I look at the corner, too, and see nothing. However, whatever he saw made his skin go pale.

"I'm thristy..."

He mutters. Any other sixteen year old boy would get their own drink, but not Yamato. I do it for him, just like he's expecting me to. When I give him the glass of water, he drinks the entire thing without moving the cup away from his mouth.

"Are you hungry?"

I ask. My son stares at his feet for a long time, and I don't think I'm going to get an anwser before he nods.

"Yea, kinda.."

That at least, is a step in the right direction.


	3. Chapter 3

**Still no reviews, and undecided on whether or not I should keep this going, but it wants to be written so badly...Thank you for the follows, dear people, but how about some reviews? I like those, too! :)**

A low growling makes me eyes open. I'm still in the living room, curled up under a blanket from my room, in my chair. At first, I think it is Them making noises, but when I look around, there is no one there, and it takes me a minute to realise it's my stomach. I pull myself to my feet, and approach the kitchen with caution, waiting for one of Them to appear. When none do, I flip the switch that turns the light on. Still nothing. This confuses me, but I decided that for once, I'm going to be normal. Even if it is two in the morning. I rumage through the fridge and find the left over take out my dad had for dinner. I put some on a plate, and stick it in the microwave, which I don't like using, and turn it on. However, apperently I am still loud enough to wake up my father.

"Yamato?"

I jump at his voice and spin around from watching my food spin around.

"What're you doing?"

His voice is cautious, like I'm going to start yelling at him.

"I'm hungry..I didn't mean to wake you up."

"I was already awake, I saw the light turn on."

He says, sitting at the table. I turn back to my food, which has dinged, telling me it is done warming up. I take my plate, and a fork and sit across from my dad, who watches me eat the small amount of food on my plate. None of it has taste, and it feels funny in my mouth, but even I know I need to eat.

"Bad day today, huh?"

He asks me. I dip my head once, not really wanting to go into detail.

"How about now?"

"They're all gone right now."

I have always anwsered my father truthfully, although to anyone else I would pretend not to know what they were talking about. I'm not sure if my father actually believes I'm crazy or not, but he doesn't act like I am.

"When can I see T.K again?"

My question throws my father off, since he is half asleep.

"Uhm, well..I'm not sure, Matt."

I finish my food in silence, then put my plate in the sink. I grab my blanket, and go to my room, still waiting for Them. I climb into my bed, and face the wall, because there is never anyone there. They stay away from my bed. And for the most part they don't try and touch me either. Only on the really, really bad days to I have to worry about them coming at me. I must have fallen asleep, although I don't remember it, because my dad touches my arm gently.

"Yamato, you need to get up. You have to go to school today."

I roll over and scan my room, and seeing none of Them, I sit up and yawn. My dad gets up and leaves to let me get dressed, and I do so. As normal, there is food on the table for us both. Just like every morning, whether or not I actually eat. I sit at the table with my dad, and kind of pick at my food.

"Yamato?"

That cautious edgy tone from earlier still in his voice.

"Hmm?"

"Did you take your medicine last night?"

I draw a complete blank on this question.

"I don't remember."

I anwser truthfully. My father doesn't say whats on his mind, or what made him ask the question. I pick for a few more minutes, then get up and head to the bathroom. I take my medicine and do my hair. I look at myself in the mirror and sigh in disgust. I look like shit. Lack of sleep does that to you, though. There's a gentle bang on the door.

"Matt, come on, you're going to be late!"

I open the door, and slid my shoes on. My dad hands me a backpack, full and heavy. The second it's in my hands dread settles into my stomach. I search the bag for the small device that makes my life much easier, and I find it. My dad knows me well. I get a gentle shove from behind and I move towards the door followed by my dad, who stops to lock the door behind us. I follow my dad to the car and get in without much of anything. The shaking has started already, and the tremors rack my body.

"Matt, come on, relax."

My dad tries, but that just makes it worse.

"Why do you do that, anyway?"

My dad asks, trying to keep his eyes on me and the road at the same time.

"I'm a chuiwawa,"

I mutter, trying to make a joke about my bodys defence to life. My dad, however doesn't find it very funny. He pulls into the school parking lot, simply a drop off area, and I jump out without a word. I slam the car door behind me, trying to force my body to settle. I squeeze the shoulder strap of my backpack until my knuckles go white as I approach the main entry doors. The other kids basically jump out of the way, regardless of who else they smash into, as long as it's not me they touch. The first thing I notice is that I don't see one blonde in the students waiting for first class to start. So I stick out already. As I enter the door, I'm greeted right away.

"You must be Yamato Ishida!"

I turn to look at the voice and find myself staring at a short, round woman with a fake smile on her face. I nod my head, not trusting my own voice, because over her shoulder is one of Them. My first of the day, although she doesn't seem as bad as normal. Just a young brunette, with green eyes. I can't see any physical mark on her, but she's slightly transparent, and that what alerts me it's one of them. The little woman who had been talking stops, to peek over her shoulder, and gives me a strange glance.

"Yamato?"

I turn my attention back to the lady, and she motions for me to follow her, so I do. Green-Eyes follows us, too, and I can't help glance over my shoulder every few seconds to judge how close she is, but she keeps her distance.

"Now Yamato, you're starting a bit late, so you'll only be graded on what you do here, not anything else, because as I understand you've been home-schooled before now?"

"Uhm..yea.."

I manage to choke out. She hands me a peice of paper with my name across the top with a list of my classes, a locker number, and the lock combo.

"If you need help finding anything, just ask any of the students, I'm sure they'll help you."

I doubt that will happen, but I don't tell her that. We stop next to my locker, and she watches me open it, and put my stuff inside, save my iPod, which has been hidden in my sweater pocket, and a single binder for first class. She goes on some more, but I don't hear her, because I am distacted by a boy with wild brown hair and brown eyes. He looks so familiar, and yet, I can't place him. And then, the bell goes and everyone is gone. And I am left alone with Green-Eyes. I didn't even notice the short lady leave my side. I look down at the sheet in my hand, and see that my first class would be English. Awesome. A pale half see-through hand appears infront of my face and I jump back away from Green-Eyes. She motions for me to follow her, and even though I know I shouldn't, I do. She leads me down the halls to my English class. I've never actually been helped by Them, so I don't know what to make of her. I enter the slightly open door, and the teacher stops talking.

"Ishida?"

He snaps more then asks, and I dip my head again.

"Go, sit, I don't expect you to inturupt me again, either."

I slip to the back, and notice as I glide by that the brunette who had caught my attention earlier is in this glass. He grins at me and watches me sit in the back, by myself. Green-Eyes has followed me in, and now sits in the teachers empty chair, as he is pacing back and forth reading Macbeth. The teacher stops suddenly and looks right at me.

"Ishida, next lines, please?"

I glance down at my binder, knowing he can't actually ask me that, since I have no book, but I know what comes next, and decide that maybe, just to make not look so smug..

"You can't do that, he doesn't even have a book.."

Someone chimes up, and I have a sneaking suspicion it's the brunette boy.

"Taichi, do you really need more detention?"

I take a deep breath and repeat the lines from the book, the first two always having been my favorite.

"Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldren bubble. Fillet of fenny snake, In the cauldren boil and bake: Eye of newt, and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog."

The room is silent after I repeat the lines.

"Do you want more, or are you satisfied with my fathers schooling?"

I snap at the teacher who had called me out. He says nothing, and then, the other students cheer. It takes the teacher a few minutes to regain control of his classroom, but the glance he gives me informs me that I have already made an enemy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so a very loyal reader of mine has made an apperance so, Takato, this ones for you ;]**

**I do not own the song in this chapter, but if you know the band, I'll love you forever! By the way, for this story Matt and Tai are 16, and T.K and Kari are 12. I know those ages are closer then normal, even for me, but, it's the only way this story would work. As normal, I forgot the line divider at the pov change, so Im sorry! It's all been fixed. Once, again, I'm sorry! If I forget in the future, please tell me!**

The bell rings causing me to jump and my arm to slide of the desk and just barely miss smashing my head on the corner of the wooden table. I grab my binder, and am greeted by Green-Eyes, who kindly shows me my way back to my locker. I shove my stuff into it, wondering what excatly I'm supposed to do now, since I have an hour break for lunch. I peek into my bag to see what food is in there, but my stomach churns at the site, and I close my bag knowing that I will not be eating today. I had watched a group of Them wandering around outside. Only one was as gory as I am used to, and somewhere during that time, I assumed They must all be students that went here once. I shove my headphones into my ears, listening to my music at drown-out-the-world volume, and walk down the hallway. I am greeted by the cafeteria, and I estimate that at least 95 percent of the student body is in there, so I turn and head in the other direction. This way leads me outside, and I find an abandoned picnic table and sit by myself. The must is starting to take over the rest of the world, it even makes me puppy dog follower seem to grow distant.

_All we are is broken glass, thrown to the floor, we were never meant to last,_

_and all we are is empty shells, try to pick us up, you're going to cut yourself._

_We march the streets at night, looking for a thrill, looking for a fight._

_It was the first day of the rest of our lifes, we were fast, never going to die,_

_ridin' up the highway 45. We didn't know we couldn't go on forever..._

And then, there's a boy in my face and I jump, and fall backwards off the bench onto the floor. I yank my headphones out and glare at the boy. It's the brunette. Of course it is.

"What the hells wrong with you!?"

I demand maybe a little harsher then I intended.

"Awe, man. I'm sorry Ma- Yamato. I didn't mean to scare you, I thought you would've seen me coming."

"I was listening to music."

I say like that should explain everything.

"What do you want?"

I add. The boys face falls.

"I just wanted to say hi, don't you know who I am?"

"No. Should I?"

"Tai..Yagami? We used to be friends before you left..Do you want some help up?"

I pull myself up and give the boy one last glance, and freeze. Standing behind him, is No-Eyes. Makeing nasty gestures and rude faces. The tremors are almost instant.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Tai asks, moving towards me. I back up, and smash into a tree. I drop down so that me knees hide my eyes and I shake. I hear footsteps approach, but I don't move.

"Tai, come on he's weird."

A girls voice says from where Tai should be standing.

"Yamato, are you okay?"

I hear the boy kneel down, and the second his hand touches my arm, without even meaning to, I shove him backwards and take off at a sprint.

* * *

I wasen't expecting the shove, so I actually go over and I land hard on my ass.

"Oof!"

Escapes me without me being aware of it. A hand is on my shoulder, and I have more then one pair of eyes on me.

"Are you okay, Tai?"

The female voice that is closest, probably also the owner of the hand, is my bestfriend, Sora. I pull myself up.

"I'm fine. I've had worse then that."

Being the on the soccer team, it's true. Although this one stung my emotions more then most. Look in the direction the blonde had taken off in, and he's completely gone.

"He's a fast runner,"

I comment, turning towards my red-head friend.

"I think you're crazy for going near him."

She responds in her mothering tone she seems to use only on me. I give her a dirty look.

"Why?"

"Do you even know what they're saying about him?"

"Do you even remember what they said about you?"

I snap at her. She looks down.

"But yes, I am indeed aware of what everyone is saying about him, and I do know for a fact, that he did not kill his brother when he was 8. Because it was actually Kari that went to the hospital that day."

Sora freezes and I smash into her.

"Sorry. Why are you stopping? It was an accident. She over heated."

I mutter. Sora glance at me. My hand jumps to my cheek where my mom had hit me. Even now when I think about it I can feel it sting. The bell rings for next class to start, saving my ass, again, as it seems to do so often. The sound breaks Sora out of her frozen state and she hurries towards the door, me a few steps behind. We go our seperate ways, and I head to my next class. Even though Yamato is supposed to be in this one, he's not here. I hope he's going to show up late, at least, so I can apologise for scaring him so bad at lunch, but he makes no apperance. I stand at my locker before last period, the door open, digging through my bag for the homework I actually did last night.

"Where did you get that?"

I jump at the voice and look straight into icy blue eyes.

"Get what?"

I ask, confused. He points at something slightly over my shoulder, I look at the door, and he's pointing at a picture of us. Eight years ago, but us.

"Uhm..you're dad gave it to me when he took it? It is me, after all.."

Those eyes narrow, and the blonde turns and stalks off.

"Hey, Yamato, wait!"

I slam the door closed and go after the blonde. I don't touch him this time though.

"Yamato, wait, I'm sorry for scaring you at lunch."

"You didn't."

I don't know what else to say to that, so I just follow behind the blonde, and he stops at a locker, which he opens, and shoves things into his bag, before slaming the door, and nearly smashing into me.

"Why are you still here? Go away."

"O-okay.."

I mutter, slightly confused. The blonde stares at me eyebrow raised. I realise I'm actually blocking him, because he's not going to touch anyone physically. Then his eyes drift past me and widen, and he shoves past me and disappears in the crowd of students. I look at what I assume is the same place Yamato's eyes have been and see absolutely nothing. There's no students, no window, no nothing. Just a wall.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so, for all you who read Chapter 2 and never told me about the entire missing sentence, shame on you! And shame on me for not catching it! But my laptop's been a cow and has been deleting huge sections of my stories. And for those who read Chapter 4 and notice there was no line break between Matt and Tai, I have fixed it. I always forget, so please, tell me in the future so I can fix it!**

Not ready to go home, but not actually wanting to be in school, I end up at the park across the street from my house. It's late December, so the pond is frozen over. From where I'm sitting on the park bench I actually watch my dad pull into our house. Althought technically, I could get myself out of trouble, I know nothing is going to get me out of trouble at school, and I know that means detention. I get off the bench, and shove my headphones back in, and decide to take one more walk around the park before heading home. I drown at the world for the most part, only staying connected enough to avoid bodies. During a song change, angry voices make there way through to me.

"That's him, isin't?"

"Who else would it be? I don't know anyone else that lo-"

I turn my iPod off, so I can listen to the voices behind me.

"He hurt Tai today, we should get him back."

My heart speeds up slightly, and before I can make the decision to run, someone grabs me from behind and shoves me towards the pond. My foot breaks the ice, and I'm wet in freezing water up to my ankle. I turn towards the two boys and I get a shove in the chest that sends me reeling backwards, and I fall. Ice shatters around me and I briefly go underwater before jumping out of it. The two boys are running in the other direction as I pull myself out of the water. I am freezing, and it's cold enough that my clothes are going stiff already. I head straight for my house, but in the five minutes it takes there's ice forming on my skin. I kick the door, twice, and my dad opens it.

"Yamato!? What happened?"

I try and open my mouth, but can't. My dad picks me up, after unattaching my bag from me, and carries me to the bathroom, which is always the warmest room for some reason, and runs the water. He drops me, fully dressed into the semi-cold water. Once I start moving around, he turns the water to a more bareable tempature and I sit in the slowly heating up water of the tub, shivering. My dad moves my hair out of my face, something he hasn't done in a long time.

"What happened?"

"I tripped."

A scream from the bathroom door, which my dad is blocking. Without thinking I grab a bottle that's sitting on the edge of the tub and fling it in that direction. I hear the thump of it hitting something. As normal, my dad heard nothing and just looks at the shampoo that's now all over the carpet. I can tell he doesn't believe my statement about tripping, and he acts like the shampoo bottle nearly smashing into his head didn't even happen.

"I w-w-was-wasen't ai-aim-iming for y-you."

I stutter through shivering lips. My dad wraps his arms around me, and pulls me against his chest, and I freeze, aside from my shivers.

"I know you weren't. Is it one of Them?"

He asks. I nod my head against his chest.

"Was today bad?"

"N-no, today was o-okay. Except for T-Tai. I need to g-get this s-stuff o-off."

My dad releases me, and walks to the door, he looks back at me as I drop my soaking sweater on the ground. Then the door closes, and I am alone. I stand up to strip the rest of my clothes, and hiss in pain as the hot water touches the brand new cuts from the ice. I sit in the bath, completely under the water until it goes cold. I climb out and wrap a towel around me, hoping to keep the chills away, but the second the air touches my skin, goosebumps rise on my body. There's a gently tap on the door right as I go to open it. My dad has a blanket in his hand, which I allow him to wrap around me, then I scamper to my room, and dig through my drawers, and unpacked boxes to find a pair of sweat pants and a long sleeved shirt to cover my cold body. I decide to keep the blanket, too. I leave my room, and without actually telling them to, my eyes search for Them. All there is is Green-Eyes, sitting in the far corner. Her eyes are blurry, and I realise she's crying. This confuses me greatly, but I ignore her, and follow the sounds of my dad in the kitchen. He's just placing food on the table. The first thing I do is drink an entire cup of water though. I sit down at my place and watch my dad eat.

"So, are you going to tell me what actually happened?"

I start shoving food into my mouth so I don't have to talk.

"Yama."

I groan. He never calls me that, unless he wants something, badly.

"Boys."

Is all I give him, regardless of how hard he pushes. My dads eyes to drift to my plate, probably to tell me to eat more, and his mouth drops open, then he snaps it shut again. I look down and am shocked myself, to find my plate empty. I take my plate and my dads and rinse them off, and grab my blanket and head for my room.

"Hey, Matt?"

My dad asks, making me freeze. I turn back to look at him, having flipped my blanket over my head making it a hood, I can only seem him out of one eye.

"Want to watch a movie or something?"

It sounds awkward coming from him, but I know he worries about me. I stay perfectly still, thinking about it, and decide that I should at least, let him watch me for awhile.

"Sure, dad."

I move to the living room, and find it empty. Green-eyes is gone, and I make a mental note to try and figure out who she is, or who she was, rather. My father is a few steps behind me, and I curl up on one side of our couch so that I can see the T.V. My dad rents a movie off the T.V, and I sit up with a jolt and look at him.

"What?"

He asks, giving me a strange look.

"You can rent movies of the T.V?"

"Uhm, yes?"

I guess my dad didn't realise how disconnected from the world I really was unless it came to music. There was always room for music. I don't actually remember what movie we watched, or even what it was about, because I fall asleep within a few minutes after it starts. At some point I wake up and my dad is rubbing my back. Then I wake up again, and I'm in my bed, alarm blaring next to my head. I hit the button out of annoyance and sit up. My room is empty. I feel okay, and I don't think I'm getting sick. I climb out of bed and dig through my drawers for clothes. I go through my morning rountine without waking my dad up. I leave my still dripping bag on the ground by the door, and head out the door. I have no problems, and no Them on the way to school. I round the corner onto school property and nearly smash right into Tai's back.

"No, I think he's weird."

Goosebumps rise on my skin at the voice, and I recognise the two boys that had attacked me yesterday talking to Tai. They stop when they notice me. Tai looks over his shoulder at me, and smiles.

"Hey Matt!"

"Uhm."

Tai turns to face me, grin in place, eyes lit up.

"Do you play sports? 'Cause you run pretty fast."

The boys behind him shift uneasily, and I can't help my self.

"Yea, it's called running from people who want to break my face. Or you know, push me into freezing cold ponds in the middle of December. Right guys?"

I ask the two behind Tai. His head turns to look at the other two.

"What?"

At that very moment the bell goes, and the other two scramble to get away from Tai.

"They tried to push you into the pond?"

Tai asks, a step behind me.

"Actually, if you must know, they succeeded."

The noise Tai makes is a mix between disgust and fear. My classes before lunch fly by, but in the middle of last class, Green-Eyes, and No-Eyes had made their apperance. I can hear No-Eyes in the back of my head, screaming. It must have been her I had hit with the shampoo last night. I close my locker and make my way to the doors to take me outside. My iPod, I discovered is now broken from the ice water. I hear the sounds before I see what's causing them. Tai stands in the middle of a group of kids, and my two attackers are both bleeding on the ground.

"Taichi Yagami, what are you doing!?"

I am nearly shoved to the side as someone sails past me and grabs Tai. As Tai is shoved back towards the school he gives me a grin. A red head approaches me, and she seems kind of hesitant.

"I don't know who you are, excatly, but he did this for you."

She tells me. I bite my lip and stay silent. I don't know what to say to her. I don't even know who she is to the brunette, who literally, probably just made my life even worse, even though he was trying to help.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay another chapter down. I need to figure out how to get Matt and Tai alone. Hmm, and how to being T.K back into Matt's life. Oh my! Please review, I love them :)**

I sit silently in the office, eyes on my fingers, that sit still in my lap. Taichi sits beside me, fidgeting. Both our parents were called, because someone felt the need to mention my being involved. I don't know if it was Tai, or the other two,and I don't care. I'm pissed someone made it necessary to call my father from the school to pick me up. My dad gets here first.

"Yamato,"

I look up at my dad, he doesn't look happy. My eyes go back down.

"And Tai..This can't be good."

My dad sighs. I look at the boy by my side, who flinches away from my glare. Tai's parents walk into the house, neither looking overly thrilled, but not angry.

"You need to stop beating people up, Tai."

His dad tells the boy.

"Well, it was for a good reason. This is Matt, by the way."

Tai adds and waves his hand infront of me, which I push away. My dad, and Tai's parents suddenly are all over each other with greetings and hugs. I drop my head against the wall with a thump. The principal chooses this moment to show up and sweep us all into her office.

"So, boys, what happened?"

Neither of us say a word.

"Someone better tell me, or we go with Dayne and Riley's side."

I scowl at the names of the two boys who had attacked me yesterday.

"They wouldn't leave Matt alone! They hurt him yesterday so I hurt them back."

Tai weakly defends himself. I still stay silent. There's no point in getting involved.

"Yamato."

I look up at my dad, to flinch away from the dead girl hanging behind him and smash my head on Tai's shoulder. My hand jumps to my now throbbing head. My dad ignores this, thankfully.

"Does this have something to do with why you came home dripping wet yesterday?"

"They pushed me into the pond."

I admit. This sends up a flurry of activity. Tai stays just as still as I do. My father and Tai's parents start yelling, and the principal leads the adults out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Was it bad?"

Tai asks to fill the silence. I shrug.

"No. I have some cuts from the ice breaking. And probably would've froze to death if I wasn't just across the street."

"It was that cold?"

"Ice was forming on my skin."

"Well, I'm gonna keep you safe."

The boy places his hand over my hand and squeezes it, before letting it go.

"You might not remember me, but I remember you always defending me, so now it's my turn."

I offer the boy a weak smile and then turn away, and regret it immediately. The hanging girl is completely visable now, and it looks way worse then I had orginally thought. I tilt my head slightly to try and figure out why, but can't. All I know is that she's scary. I clamp my eyes shut and drop my head into my hands.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Tai puts his hand on my back. I turn to look at him, and he flinches and jumps up and turns to look behind him.

"What the hell?"

* * *

"Hey, are you okay?"

I ask the blonde. His head had dropped into his hands, and he looks really..fragile. I put my hand on his back to try and comfort him. The blonde turns his sapphire eyes in my direction, and I see a girl covered in blood with no eyes in the reflection of the blue orbs. I jump up and spin to see what could've caused that, and there's nothing there. At all.

"What the hell?"

"Are _you_ okay?"

The other boy turns my question around.

"Didn't you see her? You had to have seen her! I saw her reflection in your eyes..."

Suddenly, the blonde grabs my shirt and yanks me down. The second my ass is on the seat, the door swings open. The blonde gives my hand a pat before sliding both his hands into his sleeves, eyes down.

"Okay, so uhm..Matt you can go. Tai you're suspended. I don't want to, Tai, but I have to. You know the rules."

The two of us rise at the same time, and Matt follows me out. His dad wraps his arm around his sons shoulders and pulls the blonde against him.

"We had no choice, we had to call the police, Matt. They could've kill you."

Matt pulls away from his dad, and shoots me an apologetic glance, before leaving with his dad. My parents say nothing, because it's not the first time. I climb into the car, and my dad starts our car, and then we're following a better suited, more stylish car.

"Isin't that the Ishida car?"

"Yes. We're going over there to talk to Hiroaki."

"Whose that?"

"Mr. Ishida."

"Oh.."

I'm excited to see where the blonde lives, but I don't know how pleased he'll be with it.

* * *

I noticed the Yagami's following us immediately. I'm not overly pleased with it, but there's not a lot I can do if they're my father's friends. Although, I guess it does give me a chance to find out more about what the brunette saw. My dad pulls into the parking space, and I jump out of the car.

"Keys."

My dad hands them to me and I go to my house alone. My dad waits for Tai and his family. I unlock the door and leave the door open, keys in the lock. I head straight to my room, and dig through my top drawer, which also holds all my socks, and pull out a sketchbook. I flip back five pages to find my drawing of No-Eyes. Since she is who I saw leaning over Tai's shoulder today, I assume it must be her that he saw, too.

"Really, Matt?"

I hear my dad ask, although not actually to me.

"Tai, come here!"

I raise my voice to be heard out in the hallway. I listen to brunette walk towards my voice, and then he's at the door. He looks around my mostly unpacked room, and then walks towards me. I show him my picture, and he flinches.

"This who you saw?"

"Uhm..yea..it is.."

He looks sick. I walk out into the living room, and find no adults, so I head to the kitchen, where my dad is making coffee. I grab a pen off the counter from where my dad was doing some work the previous night, and write across the page 'Tai saw her, too'. I hand the book to my dad, who pales slightly, then I take it back. I head straight to my room, where the brunette is still in the exact same spot I left him.

"You can sit, or something."

I tell him, waving my hand across the entire span of my room. The other boy looks at me funny, and it gives me a strange jolt in my stomach.

"I'm not good at socializing..so, just.."

I trail off, not sure what I was going to say. The brunette smiles at me and sits on my bed. I climb ontop of my dresser and sit with my knees up against my chest. I stare at my knees, and Tai stares at me. It makes me face heat up and I become uncomfortable.

"Why are you staring at me?"

I ask without looking up.

"Huh?"

Tai asks, like he wasn't.

"Nevermind,"

I mumble. Maybe it wasn't him, but Them. I look up, to find my room empty, except the brunette on the other side of the room. His eyes are out my window, and with the way the light hits him...I can't help myself, with my sketchbook still by my side, I pull it into my lap, and begin to draw the boy. He'll be the only positive thing in this book.

"What're you drawing?"

The other boys voice makes me jump and I look up t him, unsure whether or not to tell the truth.

"That depends."

"On?"

"How weird you think I am after I tell you."

I hardly even look up, because I don't really need to. I finish the half heated sketch, and throw the book across the room. It lands beside Tai with a soft thump. He picks the book up and looks at the picture. He tilts his head slightly.

"Seriously?"

He asks. I bite my lip, waiting for the insults.

"That's amazing!"

"You can have it, if you want.."

"Nah, I don't need a picture of myself. You should do one of Kari though! That's be so cool."

Tai goes on about how amazing it would be, and that I should become an artist or something. Drawing is not my real talent, it's just something I've gotten good at over the years. Tai stops talking as my dad appears in the door.

"Food, now."

Tai jumps up and races after my dad. I'm a little slower, because I'm not actually hungry. I'm a good ten steps behind Tai, but I can still hear his voice.

"Where'd my parents go?"

He asks, voice muffled.

"You still have the same appetite..They went to get your sister."

"Matt's a real good drawer."

"Yea, he's a good singer, too."

Tai looks at me as I sit down in my usual spot, he has food half way to his mouth, and food in his mouth. It makes me feel sick.

"You sing?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full."

My dad puts an overly full plate infront of me and I'm aware it's for Tai's eyes strictly, but I couldn't eat tonight even if I wanted to, so I play with it, hoping Tai doesn't notice that nothings going into my mouth.

"You gonna eat the rest of that?"

Tai asks, eyeing my food. I slide the plate across the table to him and watch him eat my entire plate as well.

"You are bottomless."

My dad comments. Tai just smiles at us. Although I do now have a bond with the brunette, because of No-Eyes, he disgusts me at the same time. No one should eat like he does, but if not for that, he's kinda alright, I guess..


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, so there's a cute little almost kiss scene, but not just yet. T_T. SOONTHOUGHIPROMISE. Review, please! They make me happy! They make me smile! They inspire me! Is anyone even reading this story? 'Cause if you are just drop me a line, please! It would really make my day! Okay, Onwards, dear reader!**

I wouldn't necerssaily say I'm upset when my dad tells Tai he's welcome to spend the night, however, I do put up a fight about where the brunette will be sleep. He can't sleep on the couch, and I know this because of my dads weird sleeping pattern. Greatly thanks to me, of course. But, I don't want Tai sleeping in my room, either, because that means I'll have to share my bed. Not that I'm worried the brunette will do anything, it's more just...I've never had anyone in my bed before. Ever. I know it's a losing battle, but I fight it anyway.

"But daaaad."

I whine.

"Enough, Yamato."

I pout and cross my arms over my chest. The brunette had sat quietly the entire time, I can see him out of the corner of my left eye. He's smiling. That makes me pout even more. He's finally stopped eating, though.

"Go watch TV, or something. Rent a movie. I have work to do."

My dads tone is offical, so I get up and do as he's asked, although I do make a quick trip to the bathroom to take my medicine. When I go to find the brunette, my dad has him in the living room, and is renting a movie for him. I flop into my usual chair. My dad looks at me, but doesn't say anything. Tai's on the far side of the couch. I watch the names flip by and my dad and Tai talk about them. Tai keeps looking at me for my imput, I guess, but I've never even heard of any of these movies before. They end up picking Wrong Turn 4.

"It's a scary one, Matt."

My dad tells me.

"So I concluded by the name. And the 18+ rating."

Tai giggles at my word choices.

"Have fun!"

My dad says all cheery as we walks away and locks himself in his room to do his work. The opening scene is gross, but it's not scary. At least, I don't think so. Tai, however has his face covered with his hands.

"Scared, Tai?"

I ask. The boy jumps and drops his hands.

"No, I'm just tired."

His voice is wavers, and when he said 'no' his voice cracked.

"Sure,"

"But, uh, you should come sit over here, anyway. Just in case you get scared."

At first, I almost say no, but after a few seconds debate, I move to sit beside the brunette. I can fell the couch shake underneath the boy as the movie goes on. At some point the brunette moves close enough to me that he can hide his face against my shoulder.

"You're pathetic, you know that?"

I ask the other boy. Tai sticks his tongue out at me, but then hides his face again, as someone else gets killed. By the end of the movie, the brunette's feet are up on the couch, and he doesn't want to get off.

"Tai, come on.."

"No, they're going to get me."

"Kay, well, I'm going to tell everyone on your soccer team all about this."

The boy freezes, and then shakes his head.

"I don't care. I don't want to see the crazy guys!"

I grab the brunette's arm and pull, and he comes flying off the couch and crashes into me.

"Oh."

He says. I don't let him go as I lead him to my bedroom, as we pass the hallway closet, I grab Tai an extra blanket.

"Are you making me sleep on the floor?"

He asks, fear creeping into his voice.

"Yes."

I tell him. The brunette stops, and nearly fall backwards onto him.

"I'm kidding. You can't have either of my blankets because I need them. I get too cold."

"Oh."

The brunette says again. It almost sounds like he's half asleep, but really, he's distracted, checking for the boogie man. I flip the light switch for my room, and it's bathed in proper light. Tai blinks at the sudden assult on his eyes. I pull out shorts from my drawer.

"I'm going to change in th-"

"Don't leave me! I'll put the blanket over my head. And turn around..and cover my eyes!"

I sigh in frustration, but agree to the brunette. He spins around and throws the blanket over his head. I take my jeans off and throw them in the laundry basket, then pull my shorts on.

"I'm shutting the light off."

I announce. The brunette gives a soft whimper, then everything's dark momentarily while my eyes adjust. I push past Tai, who has taken the blanket off his face, and climb into bed, and move to the far side. The other boy climbs onto my bed after me, and I'm glad I convinced my dad to get me a bigger one. The brunette's breathing becomes softer as he falls asleep. I lay awake for a long time, not trusting myself to sleep with someone else this close. Just as I am about to fall asleep, Tai shifts.

"Matt?"

He asks.

"What?"

I respond, fully awake now.

"I have to pee."

I groan.

"Seriously? You woke me up for that?"

"I don't wanna go alone.."

"Oh, God. What's wrong with you?"

I snap as I climb over the other boy. He shifts as my leg touches his.

"Let's go."

The brunette gets up and places a hand on my shoulder and I lead him through the darkened house to the bathroom. I turn the light on for him, and he slips in and leaves the door mostly open. I wait for him to go to the bathroom and wash his hands. This time he reaches for my hand. I turn the light off with my free hand and lead the brunette back to my room, where I drop his hand immediately and climb back into bed. This time, I'm pretty sure I fall asleep first.

* * *

I'm not sure why but when I get out of the bathroom, I reach for his hand instead of his shoulder. When our skin touches I get butterflies. Matt uses his free hand to turn the light off, and we walk back his bedroom. As soon as the door is shut behind us, Matt drops my hand and gets back into bed. I follow him, and climb into the bed after him, and use the blanket he gave me to wrap myself up in. I try and try to sleep, but I can't. I roll over, and find the Matt is facing me. His eyes are closed and he looks peaceful. I don't know why, but I reach out and touch the boys cheek. His eyes flutter, but don't actually open, thankfully. His skin is soft, and smooth, and heating up. I take my hand away to watch the blonde, and notice the shift in his face from peace to fear. And then his eyes snap open, causing me to jump, and move away from his face before he realises what I was doing. The blonde groans.

"What's the matter?"

I ask softly.

"Just a bad dream."

He responds. He looks..off. It takes me quite awhile to notice why. His eyes are cloudy, and closer to grey then blue.

"Are you sure?"

The blondes eyes half are half shut now, although his voice tells me he's fully awake.

"Yea.."

I touch his head again, expecting him to move away, but he doesn't. He hardly even moves. His skin is warmer now then it was even just a few minutes ago.

"I think your swim in the pond has given you a fever."

I tell him. He shrugs absently.

"Had worse, I'm sure."

He mutters. His eyes shut completely. His eyes move under the closed lids, and his breathing becomes softer. I get up and wander to Matt's window, and look past his curtains. The sky is filled with reds, oranges, and yellows. I've never actually seen the sunrise before. I look back at the other boy to make sure the lights not bothering him, and see that it falls directly across his face. I can't help but smile, it looks just like the movies, almost. The blonde shifts and covers his eyes and I drop the curtain, going back to the blonde. His eyes are open, and less cloudy then they were five minutes ago.

"You don't sleep much.."

I say leaning on the bed. He turns his eyes on me.

"Yea, well..It's impossible to sleep when someone opens the curtain and the sun is on your face."

He says, although it's not the way he normally says things. It's almost like he's joking. I watch the other boys eyes, and his eyes are on me. I even see the faint blush spread across his cheeks. When he breathes out I can smell his breath. His breath is sweet, and considering he hasn't even brushed his teeth yet...Suddenly the other boy sits up and pushes me away from his face. He swings his legs over the side of the bed, hid leg touching my arm. The bedroom door swings open making me jump. Matt rubs his eyes, and yawns.

"Morning, boys!"

His dad says, he's very cheery for someone so early in the morning.

"Hello,"

Matt says. He didn't bothering hiding the confusion in his voice.

"May I ask why you're shouting first thing in the morning?"

"I've decided we're going camping on Friday!"

The blonde stares at his father in disbelief. I can't help but laugh.

"What's the matter, Matt?"

I ask. The look on the boys face makes me laugh again.

"Seriously? Camping? You want _me_ to go sleep on the ground in the woods? No thanks."

"You can sleep in the car. I'll even let Tai come. We should all go together."

Matt's dad turns around and leaves, closing the door behind him. As he retreats I can hear him talking to himself.

"And Mum thinks I'm the crazy one.."

The blonde boy mutters. I place my forehead on the boys leg and laugh.

"Oh, Matt."

I mange to get out through my laughing.

"I don't see what's so funny about this.."

He says, annoyed, which just sends me into another fit of giggles.


	8. Chapter 8

**Longest chapter yet. 2,312 words BEFORE my notes. Haha. I still don't think anyone is reading this. But, if anyone is, does the format of my stories bother anyone besides that one person who thinks I need to learn to write properly(Hahah)? I personally find them easier to follow. Anyway, if you read this, reviews would be lovely! **

I sit on my bed staring at the closed door with Tai's head on my leg. He's trying very hard not to be heard laughing, but I can feel it. It's the middle of winter. And my dad wants to go camping. I think over my arguments for reasons not to go. At least not until it's warmer. Although I will probably lose this battle, too, I figure it's worth a shot. Maybe I can at least get him to rent a cabin instead of sleeping on the ground. Or even a trailer...although I'd rather a cabin. I push Tai's head of my leg and get up. I follow the sounds of my dad to his office/bedroom. Today it's his office. He's digging in a drawer. The room upsets me. Looking back at me from all sides is my little brother. They are all much older pictures. The newest one from about two years ago, but you can still see the resembalance between us.

"Dad."

I announce. He jumps.

"What?"

He sounds annoyed.

"Why do we have to go camping now? It's really cold outside. And after my dip in the lake I'd rather not go lay out the woods in the cold. You know, I get cold enough inside, with heat, but without heat...Plus, I haven't even been at my school a whole week yet. Which reminds me I should probably get ready to go.."

I trail off, not actually wanting to attend the school, especially if Tai's not going to be there. My dad says nothing. I wait. And when he turns around, he shoos me off. Tai's sitting the living room. I do the usual morning routine. Clothes. Change in the bathroom, hair, teeth, medicine. I make a simple breakfast of toast for the brunette boy.

"Come on, Tai. I have to go to school."

The brunette returns to my room, and comes back with his jacket. He puts his shoes on and takes the toast from my hand and starts eating without a word. I grab my bag, which my dad has obviously washed and dried for me. I yawn as I close the door. The brunette walks with me to school. We walk in silence because the boy is filling his face. They are here and there. Always with mouths open. Having friends makes Them angry. It's easy to ignore them though, because for some reason they avoid Tai. I notice Tai's eyes watching me look around, and counting Them. He can't see them though, because he keeps looking at the same spots I am with a confused look on his face.

"I gotta..keep going that way."

The brunette says, pointing down the street when we get to the school entrance. I nod my head.

"I'll be back next week though!"

He says cheerfully.

"Have fun!"

The boy skips down the street as I walk onto the school ground. I lower my head and walk with my eyes down. Today is Thursday, which means tomorrow is the last day. I walk straight to my locker, and shove my backpack in, pulling out the stuff I'll need for first class. Hello, English, and pissy teacher. I close my locker and jump about a foot backwards.

"Sorry."

Tai's redhead friend says putting her hands out infront of her, as if trying to show me her hands are empty.

"It's okay, I was in my own world.."

I stumble on her name, and I race through my head looking for it.

"...Sora?"

She laughs and nods her head.

"Yea, Sora. And you're Ma-"

"Yamato."

I cut her off. No one calls me Matt anymore. I don't like it. Although I guess Tai's been getting away with it.

"Okay, Yamato. I'm not sure if you notice, but I'm in three of your classes. I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out while Tai's not here."

The tone in her voice makes me feel like she's asking because she knows something I don't. So against my normal disapproval of people, I agree. The redhead talks away as we head to english together. I realise it's my first class she's not in, so at least I won't face the two classes I haven't been to yet alone. I don't actually listen to the redhead, but I think she knows it, because she doesn't ask me anything, or expect anything back. I think it's more for show. When the bell rings, Sora races to her next class, with the promise she'll meet me here. As usual, only half my attention is at the teacher, since he's still going over Macbeth. I doodle so I don't have to look at Them. They are closing in on me now that Tai is gone. I am greatful for the bell signaling the end of class, because I get a chance to get away from Them, even if it is only briefly. Sora is good on her word, and meets me as I leave the classroom. She's already got her math book, so she follows me to my locker, silent this time. The stares and whispers are starting to get to us both, I guess. Or maybe she had a hard time in whatever class she had first. I exchange my books and head right for the classroom. Math is easy, so it goes by fast. It's the only class I actually have to pay attention in, I think. Sora sits with me, instead of her usual seat. When the bell goes I sit still instead of packing right away. Sora waits for me patiently. I wait until the room is clear before I flip my books closed. I have tons of homework, already. And that's not even getting the two days worth of classes I missed.

* * *

The blonde boy seems to be getting more depressed as the day goes on, and it kind of breaks my heart. I don't say anything though, because I have a sneaking suspicion that he is going to be Tai's, one way or the other. Whether or not the boy infront of me actually knows Tai is gay is completely different, and I will not be the one explaining it to him. I wait as he packs his things up and I follow him out of the classroom. He moves slowly, like he just wants to waste time, and for lunch to be over. But I guess if I was him, I would want to go home, too. This school isin't excatly the nicest place to be when you're new. Or strange. Or supposedly killed your little brother. Although after being around the boy for an entire class, he doesn't seem like he could hurt anybody. But first impressions can be decieving.

"You're going to sit with me and my friends at lunch, right, Yamato?"

The boys blue eyes land on mine. He looks surprised that I offered. He gives a little shrug and drops his eyes.

"Sure, I guess."

He doesn't sound too sure, but he does follow me back to my locker, and then to the cafeteria. I can see the look on my friends faces from here, but I lead the blonde over to them with confidence. I sit down beside a girl with pink hair and brown eyes, sliding her down. The blonde sits on my other side, on the edge. He looks like he's going to bolt. The table goes silent.

"Guys, this is Yamato. Yamato, this is...Mimi, Jou, and Koushiro. Of course there's also Dais-"

I fall silent as I realise the boys attention is across the room on something I can't see. I poke his arm and he jumps and snaps his eyes on mine.

"Huh?"

"Did you hear anything I just said?"

I ask, slightly annoyed. He points at the girl on my other side, then to the boys across the table.

"Mimi, Jou, Koushiro."

He repeats as he points at them.

"And after that I lost you."

I pat the boys arm and he flinches at the contact, but I ignore it.

"That's all you need to know for now."

I promise.

"Hello,"

He says quietly to the other three. At first no one says anything, then at the same time, all three anwser.

"Hey."

"Hello."

"Nice to meet you."

As the the other three jump back into their conversation, I notice the boys eyes drift back over to the fall wall again. I still don't see anything. Then his eyes turn to Mimi, who has said his name.

"I have a question for you."

The blue eyes narrow.

"Ok..ay?"

He doesn't sound sure about this.

"Where's your little brother?"

"Mimi!"

I snap.

"What? We have the right to know. Even if he is Tai's friend."

"With my mom. In Europe. At least I think they're in Europe.."

He trails off and he thinks about it for a minute then shrugs.

"I didn't kill him."

The other girls skin pales as he says this. His eyes stay on hers until she turns away. I go back to my food, opting to stay out of this one.

* * *

"I didn't kill him."

My voice carries, although it was only meant for the four people at the table with me. The tables around us quiet down for a second, then go back to whatever they were doing. My eyes go back to the girl across the room, leaning against the wall, one arm gone, the other sides leg bent funny. Although this would scare most people, it is a normal occurence for me. My only concern is making sure she stays away from me. I basically ignore the other people, wishing desperately for the day to just be over. When the bell goes, Sora and I hit her locker, then mine, then head off to Biology. I apologise to the teacher for missing three days, and she smiles at me.

"No worries, Yamato, but you will have to catch up, I'm afraid."

She gives me a text book, and the sheets of paper I'll need from the last three days. I'm a good multitasker, and manage to take notes and work on the assignments I was given at the same time, although I notice Sora adding things to my notes that I missed. Next is History which drags on. That teacher was not as pleasent, but he just gave me the missing work I'd need to catch up on. I try and do both in this class too, but it's just not possible. When the bell tells us we're free, Sora waits for me again.

"You can go, I have lots to catch up on.."

I mutter.

"It's alright. If you want I can help you with your assignments, since I've already done them."

"It's okay, I got it."

The truth is I just want to be alone, I just don't want to be nasty to my possible other friend. She waits for me, and we walk to her locker first, then to mine. People have pretty much gotten over the fact that Sora is near me, now, though. Way faster then I was expecting. The whole school thing is difficult for me, since I'm used to being taught at home, over a computer. However, I don't like being in the enclosed space of home for so long. Sora and I walk to the doors together, and then make our way off school property, and at the end of the school yard, a familiar brunette is waiting for us. He waves frantically, and Sora waves back.

"You're not grounded!"

She says to the boy. He shakes his head.

"And I'm allowed back at school on Monday."

"Really?"

She sounds shocked, but I don't get it. The brunette throws an arm around me neck and I scramble to push it off. The second his arm touched my shoulders my heart started speeding up.

"Don't be so pushy, Matt, geez."

He says. I can tell I have offended him. I give him an apologetic glance, it was just a reflex reaction. He grins at me, though, so I guess we're okay. The other two walk me home, and I'm surprised to see my dads car is actually here. But that can only mean that he's leaving. When I start jogging, the other two scramble after me.

"What's wrong?"

Tai asks, catching up to me no problem. I ignore the boy and fling my door open.

"Dad?"

I call out.

"Yea?"

He anwsers from his room.

"Where are you going? How long are you going to be?"

I demand.

"How do you kno-"

He asks coming out of his room. I wave at the girl.

"This is Sora, Sora this is my dad. Where are you going?"

I repeat.

"Just on a business trip. I'll be back Sunday."

I am pissed that my dad is leaving already. I know he loves me, but he is so addicted to work, that it hurts. I spent most of my time alone, and I can't always funtion by myself.

"You're just going to leave him alone for three days?"

Tai asks. Although Tai doesn't know the full extent of my slowly deterating mental state, he knows enough that he's annoyed, too.

"Tai, mind your business."

Sora whispers.

"It's fine. I'm alone all the time."

I snap. Sora moves back from the door at the acid in my tone.

"You guys should go, I have lots of homework. I'll see you tomorrow, Sora."

"Bye, Matt."

"Kay, c'ya tomorrow, Yamato."

They say at the same time. I wait for them to leave before closing the door, with effort to not slam it. I stomp away from my dad, grabing my back from where I dropped it on the way.

"Matt,"

He starts.

"Don't bother."

I slam my bedroom door behind me, and drop onto my bed, tears bluring my vision.


	9. Chapter 9

**TODAY; I bought the digimon board game. I feel like a champ. And watched most of Digimon Frontier. If I spelt Jou's name Joe anywhere in this chapter, I'm sorry! I went back and looked for it, but I couldn't find it. I still have a guy feeling there's one hiding in there. I grew up with the english version of the show, so I have Tai, Matt, Sora, Mimi, Joe, Izzy, T.K, Kari, Davis, Yolei, Cody and Ken. That's always how I've known them, so I sometimes forget to use their Japanese names. Dx Sorry!**

I take a deep breath before knocking on the door. It's Sunday morning, and when I was here yesterday, the blonde did not anwser the door. I worried about him all day. After waiting a minute with no anwser, I ring the doorbell. This time there's a loud crash and a yelp of pain. I try the door, and it's unlocked. I race inside and find the blonde boy sitting beside his living room coffee table, hand against his eye. I can see the red liquid dripping from the bottom of his hand. I freeze. The blonde's eyes are cloudly. I drop my bag on the ground and sprint over to him. I grab his free arm and pull him to his feet, dragging him to the bathroom. The blonde sits on the edge of the bathtub and moves his hand to look at his fingers. He hit the right side of his face near his eye, and the skin has broken. I also notice a bruise on his left cheek, but that can wait. I grab a cloth and wet it and place it against his bleeding cut. He sighs and blinks. The blondes eyes are starting to clear up.

"What happened?"

I ask him, although I think I know.

"I was sleeping, and you scared me. Fell off the couch."

I move the cloth to look at his face. It's stop bleeding, so I rinse the cloth the best I can in hot water. The blonde stands up and rinses his hand in the water, watching the blood leave his skin.

"Sorry."

I tell him.

"It's okay."

Although it's really not, I don't argue. The blonde heads back to his living room, and I follow him. He drops onto the couch and wraps his blanket back around him. He stays sitting, but I'm not sure if he wants me to stay, or if I've just woken him up for good.

"Come sit."

He says, as if he's reading my mind. I do as I'm told, and sit beside Matt. He yawns. I watch his eyes and see he's watching the T.V. I didn't even know it was on because the sounds off. Some cartoon plays on the screen. Matt turns the volume back on and gives me the remote. As I look through channels, he puts his head back on the couch. He yawns again, which makes me yawn. I flip through the channels and settle on a crime show. The blonde leans across me and pulls his pillow across my lap where he leaves it. Then he puts his head down.

"I'd lay the other way, but my eye.."

My stomach flutters as I look down at the boy. His head is on my lap. I move the boy's hair away from the cut to look at it again. It's not really as bad as it looked at first, but it's in a sensitive spot. Without thinking about it I run my fingers along the blondes hair repeatedly. We watch a few shows before I even think about why I came over here in the first place.

"What time is it!?"

I ask alarmed. The blonde jumps.

"Uhm..12:30, why?"

"Ahh! I have to go! I have a soccer game! I came to see if you wanted to come watch!"

I jump up and nearly knock the blonde into the coffee table again, but at the last second he misses it.

"No. I don't think I want to be any where near you and a ball. Ever."

The other boy pulls himself off the ground and watches me race back to my bag, and dash into his bathroom to change. When I come out Matt has a sweater on, and his shoes are on, but not done up. He has his hood on, so his hair covers the open gash I gave him. I slide my shoes on and scramble out the door. The other boys slower. He had my backpack, which I forgot, with my normal close in it. He locks the door behind us, and I practically sprint down the stairs and across the road where I will be meeting with my team mates.

"Taichi! You're always late!"

Someone snaps before I'm even across the road.

"Sorry! I almost killed someone!"

We race to the field.

* * *

When I get to the soccer field, Tai is already playing. Sora immediately waves at me.

"Yamato, come here!"

I make my way over to the girl who is sitting on a bench with her other friends. I notice a brunette that's younger then the rest of us.

"This is Kari, Tai's sister. Kari, this is Yamato."

"Matt."

I say. The little girl looks at me and smiles. She notices the bag and reaches for it. I give it to her without even thinking about it. She is his sister, after all. Although Sora and Kari slide down to give me room to sit, I choose to stand. I'm not actually intrested in soccer, but I needed out of the house. The fresh air wakes me up. I watch out of the corner of my eye as Kari climbs around Sora so she can watch me. I watch the ball, trying to avoid Them. They are everywhere, for some reason. All across from me. The entire soccer team is between us, and I still start shaking.

"What happened to your face?"

Kari asks.

"Kari, don't be rude."

"I'm only curious. I didn't mean to be rude.."

And it's true, there was nothing rude in her voice. I think Sora is worried about the girl offending me more then anything.

"Where?"

I ask. She points at her cheek. I rub it automatically, just like I always do when someone asks about a bruise.

"Mm. I woke up with it. I must have hit it while I was sleeping."

I lie. The little girl nods her head like she totally understands what I'm talking about. I'd never admit to anyone here that it was in a frantic struggle to get away from one of Them touching me. All of a sudden the four other kids start yelling and cheering, making both me and Kari jump.

"Did Tai score? He did, didn't he? GO TAI!"

The girl cheers. I flinch away from the sound. I don't actually follow the game, but after awhile I can't help but watch the brunette sprint across the field. He's very good at this, apperently. After about half an hour, Kari stops cheering for her brother.

"Sora, I'm thirsty."

"Oh geez, I knew I forgot something. You're going to have to wait, Kari."

The girl apologises. I point at my house, which is a little ways down the soccer field and across the street.

"My house is right there."

Kari gets up and hops off the bench, then looks back at Sora.

"Can I go?"

The red head looks at Tai, who is watching us, and Tai nods, so Sora agrees. I start to lead the younger girl away, and she follows behind me.

"Do you have juice?"

She asks.

"Yea."

"Milk?"

"Yes."

"Chocolate milk?"

"Mhmm.."

The girl asks me questions all the way to the road, where she falls silent. She grabs onto the sleeve of my sweater. I almost pull away from her, but I stop myself before I can. We cross the road, and as soon as we're across she let's go. I unlock the door, and she walks in. She leans down to start untying her shoes.

"Don't worry about it, we won't be here long."

She follows me to the kitchen, and after looking in my fridge, and my cupboards, decides on juice. I watch as she goes back to the cupboards and pulls a bunch of snacks out. Chips, a bunch of chocolate I never ate, cookies.

"We should bring these back for everyone else."

She says.

"Okay."

I agree. It's not like I'd ever eat it, anyway. She puts the snacks in a bag and smiles at me. We start our way back to her brother, and once again, at the road she holds onto my sleeve, releasing it once we're across. As we walk beside the soccer field, I see something out of the corner of my eye flying towards us, more specifically, Kari.

"Kari!"

Tai and Sora shout. I put my hands out to stop whatever it is from hitting the girl, and the crack that follows is deafening. I am completely stunned. Someone to my right yells my name, it sounds an awful lot like my dad. It is my dad. Tai, Sora and my dad reach me at the same time. There's so many voices and questions from the same side I don't know whose talking to me.

"Matt?"

It's a whisper, but there's so much fear in that voice, my ears automatically listen to it.

"Mhm?"

I ask.

"Are you okay?"

I realise it's Tai's sister talking to me.

"Mhm."

I anwser, although, really, I'm not. The pain is starting to make it's way through to my brain. Someone grabs me around the shoulders and pushes me back towards me house. And then I'm being strapped into my dads car, and we're driving.

"Where are we going?"

I manage to get out. Although, now that I've spoken my voice cracks and the tears I didn't know where there spill down my face.

"The hospital."

The pure fear that hits me makes the pain go away.

"I don't want to go."

"Matt, your wrist is broken.."

Although I know this is true, I still don't want to go. The hospital is a flurry of movement. The doctor CUTS the sleeve of my sweater, because he didn't want to risk damaging my arm any further. And then there's the xrays, and cast, and the 'What the hell happened to your face?' That starts a whole series of other tests. No one actually wants to believe my stories. Even though one is a lie, the other is not, and neither are believed, apperently. They actually confirm with Tai that he was THERE when I got the bruise and gash. Tai lies for me, though, and says he was with me when I had a 'night terror' last night, and that's why my face is bruised. They put a something over my cut, some type of bandage, that seriously affects my vision. Then they let me go. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was very worried they wouldn't give me back to my dad. The fact that it is my left wrist that is in a cast puts me in a very bad mood.

"Well, Matt, at least you won't have to write for awhile."

My dad teases me as we walk to the emergency room exit.

"Yea, dad, incase you've forgotten, it's also my drawing and guitar hand."

The smiles dissappears immediately. Outside the hospital Tai, Sora, Jou and Kari are waiting for me. The little girl looks extremely distressed.

"I'm so sorry!"

She's practically crying.

"It's not your fault. It's whoever kicked the balls."

I tell her. Tears stream down her face.

"I told you he's not mad, Kari."

Tai tries to soothe his sister. It doesn't seem to help.

"I'm fine, really."

I try to reassure the girl, too. My words help a bit more then Tai's, and her sobs stop, however she's still crying.

"What happened to your eye?"

Sora asks as we make our way over to the parked cars, Jou had driven the other three here.

"I was sleeping on the couch and Tai scared me this morning and I smashed my head on the coffee table."

"I thought Tai spent the night?"

My dad asks from infront of me.

"He did spend the night. I never said how he scared me, did I?"

Both Tai and I look at Kari, who, if she is like any other 9 or 10 year old, which is how old I'm placing her at, she will deny it, since her brother would've been at home with her. She doesn't. She just looks up at Tai with a confused look. We seperate, but before she leaves Kari wraps her arms around my waste in a hug.

"Thank you. You probably saved my face."

"You're welcome."

Then, Kari, Tai and Sora get into Jou's van, and I climb into my dad's car, and he takes me home.

"I'm on a roll today,"

I mutter.

"How so?"

My dad asks, eyes staying on the road.

"Punch myself in the face, smash my the corner of my eye on the coffee table, and break my wrist? I'm a disaster."

My dad stays silent as we continue our way home.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapta 10. Guess I should get some Matt and Tai alone time in, huh? Or maybe get Matt to the shrink so he can get better. Seriously, he's not crazy though, I swear! Reviews make me smile? :) Sorry for any misspellings or name use mistakes. It's nearly four in the morning. You have no idea how many typos I've already caught re-reading this. If you find any seriously bad ones, please let me know so I can fix it! **

Even though my dad said I could stay home from school today, I chose to go, anyway. I walked. I'm still mad at my dad for leaving me alone all weekend. He'll probably be gone next weekend, too. But at least we don't have to go camping. Tai, Sora, Koushiro and Jou are standing together, just inside the door, with some other people when I come up the steps to the school. I open the door and walk past them without so much as a second glance. I don't want to look at them. I realise almost everyone here was there yesterday by the way they're talking about me.

"He took that like a pro, man."

"He didn't even cry."

"Was he mad at Kari?"

All three voices are strange to me.

"No. He just wanted to assure her it wasn't her fault."

Tai says.

"Hey, Matt."

I look up. The voices behind me cease. The boy infront of me has his eyes on Tai. He looks angry.

"Do you even know who kicked that ball?"

He asks me.

"Yes."

I say.

"Really?"

"Yea. Tai did. So? What's your point?"

I ask, growing annoyed. I glare at the boy causing him to back up. I walk around this boy who obviously hates Tai. Or maybe he just hates me. I head for my locker. Fast footsteps come from behind me, and I know it's Tai. Tai catches up and slows to my pace.

"You knew?"

"Of course."

I say with a shrug. I open my locker, blocking Tai from my view.

"You're not mad?"

He sounds confused.

"Well, if you had done it on purpose, you probably wouldn't be standing here. But considering the fact that it was actually going to hit Kari, I'm going to assume it was an accident. But if you did purposely try and kill your little sister, you're...stupid."

It was a lame finish, but that's not what I had orginally planned to call him. But his eyes are teary.

"Don't start crying."

I say. That would be just what I need. To make the most popular kid at school cry. He wipes his eyes and smiles at me.

"How's your wrist?"

"Broken."

I say. The annoyance is plain in my voice. What kind of stupid question is that? Tai shifts uneasily.

"Well, someone's in a bad mood, today."

I spin around, and jump back so fast I crash into Tai and we both go down.

"What the hell? Are you okay?"

Tai asks from underneath me. I look around for...It. There's nothing there.

"Matt?"

The all out concern is what draws my attention away, briefly, from my desperate search.

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?"

"Uh.."

I don't anwser because I don't know what to say. I pull myself off the other boy. Eyes darting again for any of Them. There are none. I can't stop the shaking. I'm totally blown away by the fact that one of Them actually spoke to me. And it was clear. It wasn't al-

"Matt!"

I look at the brunette.

"Bell. Come on."

He reachs for my arm, the bad one, then stops, and goes for the other one. He pulls me towards class. Once again I look for Them. I zone for most of the day, always looking for Them. Now it's lunch.

"Hey, Matt! Are you even listening?"

My eyes snap to the chocolate brown ones who stare back at me filled with worry. There's more then just Tai's eyes on me. Sora, Koushiro, and Jou are watching me, too. And some of Tai's friends from the park.

"No. I wasn't. Sorry."

"I wanna sign it."

The brunette whines. I'm lost.

"Sign what?"

Tai and Sora start laughing at me. Jou sighs and looks away. Izzy just looks lost.

"Your cast.."

Tai says to me like it's obvious.

"Oh.."

I'm not entirely sure why people want to have a cast all marked up because you just get them cut off, anyway. However, I pull my sweater up over the cast and give my wrist to the other boy. He looks shocked at first, then excited. Sora leans over the table, and steals some of the sharpies Tai mysteriously pulled out of his pocket. Apperently, he's been wanting to sign it for awhile. They doodle on my cast, and I watch them.

"Kari wants to sign it, too."

Tai says. He has his tongue sticking out as he concentrates. It becomes a game after that, and everyone wants to sign it. In the end, I have to draw a big circle in black sharpie for Kari to use whenever I see her next. Everyone seems to just get that area is off limits, and no one bothers drawing inside it. My cast is a scribbled mess by the end of lunch, I frown at the squiggly lines and deformed drawings.

"Why do people even draw on casts?"

I ask myself.

"Because it's fun."

Tai says.

"Yea, well, you don't have to look at it everyday for the next two months, do you?"

I ask, slightly annoyed with him.

"We can just color it all black. Your fingers are really purple.."

He adds. His voice drops so no one else can hear him as he says it. I shrug.

"Yea. So? Isin't that normal?"

I ask. Tai shakes his head.

"No, I don't think so. Maybe on your wrist it's self, but your whole hand? What about above your cast?"

"I'm not sure.."

I try and check without taking my sweater off, but it doesn't work out. I pull it over my head and sure enough, my arm up to my elbow is purple and black splotches. It looks gross, but it doesn't hurt.

"I just bruise easy.."

I mutter.

"Yamato! That looks bad. Maybe you should go back to the doctors."

Sora says, eyes wide. I pull my sweater back for my head and push my arms through.

"Nah. It doesn't hurt or anything. Seriously. I bruise really easy."

I try and explain the marks. I then realise it's probably from my run in with a slaming door on that arm late last night. Tai doesn't seem to sure. Tai and I seperate from Sora and Koushiro, and they immediately fall to talking in whispers.

"Don't talk about me."

I say to Sora over my shoulder. Her entire faces turns crimson.

"How do you get all these bruises, Matt? What scared you this morning?"

Tai asks. I pretend not to hear him. That's always my solution for this. When someone brings up Them, I ignore whoever happens to be asking. Or just leave.

"Matt, please, let me help you. Was it that girl I saw in the principals office?"

I freeze. I had forgotten all about that.

"It was, wasn't it?"

I shake my head so roughly it makes my head spin.

"Can you at least tell me about the bruise on your arm?"

There's no harm in telling him that part, if I leave out Them.

"I uh..went to the bathroom last night, and never turned the light on, and I tripped, and the door slammed on my arm. I think. Unless that was a dream. I'm not sure."

I ramble. I'm nervous. Why does he even care? Why does it matter what scared me? Besides the fact that I landed on him, and pushed him down. But I've done that a lot already, so he should expect it. And I already apologised. For all the times I've pushed him down. I think. I put a hand up to my head. I'm so confused. And my head hurts. Tai pushes my hand away and touches my head.

"I think you outta go to the nurse, Matt. You're really hot."

"I know I am,"

I try and tease to make him leave me, and just let me go to class. He doesn't think it's very funny though, because he puts his arm around my waist, and pulls me towards the nurses office. I try and fight him, but I just don't have it in me. And when the bell goes, telling us we should be in class, I think my head is going to explode. But all I can think about is whether or not Tai is going to get in trouble. Tai makes me sit as he searches for the nurse. When she shows up, she check mu tempature and calls my dad. He comes to get me from work, surprisingly.

"His fever is very high. Keep an eye on him."

She tells my dad as we helps me get up. He supports most of my weight back to the car. In the last twenty or so minutes, I've gone from being perfectly fine to just wanting to sleep.

"I think your body is finally catching up with your dip in the pond, Matt."

My dad says as he buckles me in.

"I wanna sleep, dad."

"So, sleep! I can carry you into the house."

That doesn't sound very good to me, but I can't help it. I drift off to the swaying of the car, the last thing I remember thinking about is hoping Tai didn't get detention because of me.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, 'Guest', I couldn't care less if you don't like the format of my stories. If it bothers you that much, why are you even reading them? **

**To the rest of you: Enjoy!**

I wake up to someone knocking on the door. I expect my dad to anwser it, but he doesn't. Everything is quiet for a few seconds, then I hear Sora.

"Tai, you can't just walk into someone house.."

"Yea, yea. Stay here then."

The brunette says to her protest. I don't bother moving. If he's walked in he's obviously coming to see me. And sure enough, the brunette appears at my door.

"Sorry for walking in but.."

"It's okay. Is my dad gone?"

"Yea, I guess so..No one else is here.."

There's something in his tone that sounds an awful lot like anger. I think. My brain is a little fuzzy. The door opens again, and I can hear my dad.

"Do you kids want to come in? I don't know if he's eve- Oh, hello Tai."

"Hello ."

"Tai broke in."

Sora says.

"I didn't break in!"

Tai protests.

"No one let you in, either."

Koushiro. I'm slightly confused as to why everyone is here, excatly. Tai I understand, kind of. Maybe. But Sora and Koushiro? I think I even heard Jou's voice, although I can't be sure. Tai walks into my room, and sits on the end of my bed. I yawn as I look at him. He's in his soccer stuff.

"'Nother game?"

I mumble.

"Just practise."

He says with a small smile.

"Did you get in trouble?"

"Nah. They understood."

I don't know what to else to say, and Tai doesn't seem to know what to say either. I can hear chatter coming from the other room as my dad entertains Tai's friends.

"Hey, Matt? What scared you this morning?"

I can't remember why I wouldn't tell him before, so I do now.

"I saw something..Kinda like..what you saw. That girl. In the principals office? Only she talked to me..for the first time..ever.."

Tai's eyes land on my face. It makes me nervous.

"You see those things a lot?"

"Often enough.."

"Matt."

I look up at my dad. His eyes are on Tai. Tai jumps up.

"I'm going to be late for practise. I'll talk to you later, okay Matt?"

The brunette leaves without another word. My dad follows him. I'm mostly asleep when he comes back, though, so he just leaves me.

* * *

"Often enough.."

The blonde says. He looks away from him me for a second, then we both jump.

"Matt."

His dad is using one of those 'stop-right-now' tones. His eyes are on me, and they say it's time to go. I leap up.

"I'm going to be late for practise. I'll talk to you later, okay Matt?"

the blonde doesn't respond to me, he just watches us leave. We say our goodbyes, and I head to soccer, Sora heads to her mom's flower store, and Koushiro and Jou go home, probably to do homework. I wonder if Matt's dad knows about the..thing I saw. He must. Matt told him, didn't he? All of a sudden there's a pain in my chest and I'm falling. I watch the other kids run past me, and realise I was pushed out of the way when I didn't move with the ball that was passed to me. I get up and brush the dirt off myself, and start concentrating on the game, although Matt keeps trying to invade my thoughts. After practice I head home. I eat my dinner in silence, which worries my parents to no end. Kari just laughed it off.

"It's okay, Tai just thinks too much!"

The younger girl says with a big smile at me. I go right to bed after, which probably further worries my parents. I wake up late, as always, and have to rush to school. It passes in a blur. I come home, right after school, assuming that I probably should not be going to Yamato today. After yesterday, I doubt I'll even be allowed to see Yamato. It makes my heart sink a little bit. The phone rings as I close my door, and I ignore it. If it's important my mom will tell me. I doubt it is, though. To my surprise, she calls me.

"Tai, Matt, oh, I mean Yamato is on the phone. It sounds important!"

I move so fast I trip over my feet and nearly fall into the door face first but manage to catch myself at the last second. My mom hands the phone to me.

"Matt?"

I ask. How the blonde boy even has my number I'm not sure, because I don't ever remember giving it to him.

"T-Tai."

"What's the matter?"

"A-are y-you b-busy?"

He stutters. It's not just fever in his voice. It's fear.

"No. What's the matter?"

I try again.

"C-can y-you come o-over, p-please?"

"Fifteen minutes. Faster if I can get my parents to drive me."

"K-kay."

I hang up with Matt, and go to beg my mom for a ride to Matt's, only she can't. Something about waiting for someone important, or something. I wasn't listening. I run the entire way, making my time shorter then fifteen minutes, and closer to ten. The Ishida door stands open, and I can see the blonde pacing. His back is to me, so I knock on the door. He nearly jumps out of his skin. He pulls me by the wrist inside, closing the door behind us. Only he looks at it with regret, but it's too cold not to. To my great surprise, he hides his face against my shoulder. His entire body trembles against me, and I realise it's worse then I had thought.

* * *

When the brunette finally shows up, and gets inside, I basically collapse in his arms. I hide my face in his shoulder, and instantly all the things I'm seeing are gone. At first Tai is just stiff, and I almost pull away and apologise. Then, we wraps his arms around me and hugs me against him.

"It's okay, Yama."

He says, rubbing my back with one hand. With my good arm, I cling to the side of his shirt. There are no tears, yet. I will them to stay back, and they do. I stay hidden in his shoulder until the better part of the shaking stops. I then pull away from the boy, who seems reluctant to let me go.

"What's the matter?"

He asks me as I shift.

"I-I'm s-sorry."

I mutter, trying to force myself to stop the fear from creeping into my voice.

"Don't be sorry, just tell me what happened."

He seems honestly concered, but I know I can't actually tell him about the girl I watch get killed in my room. Sound and all. God, how I hate Them.

"M-my dad's n-not here, and I d-didn't want to be a-alone anymore.."

At first, I think Tai is going to protest, but decides not to.

"Well, come on, then."

He starts walking towards the living room, but when he realises I'm not following, he comes back. He takes my hand, and leads me to the couch, where he makes me sit. I glance at my bedroom door, which is still slightly opened from when I had slammed it earlier, and it had bounced so hard against the frame it had opened back up again.

"C-can you close m-my door?"

Well, at least the stuttering is going away. Tai does as I ask without any questions. Without so much as a thought it seems.

"T-thanks."

"No problem."

He says with a grin, sitting next to me. Without really thinking about it, I slide closer to Tai, who notices my actions, but doesn't protest. I play with the bottom of my shirt, still nervous. Not wanting to be here, but knowing there's no where else I can go. Except maybe the hospital. Tai takes my broken wrist arm in his hands, and looks at the bruises that are now closer to black then purple. He pokes at my arm. I just watch him.

"That seriously doesn't hurt?"

He asks, all I can hear is confusion. I shake my head.

"You should have seen my b-back and legs after I fell into the ice."

I tell him. He looks alarmed at my statement though.

"Was it really bad?"

"Bruises and a few cuts. It doesn't take much, Tai, r-really. I think it's cause I'm so p-pale.."

The other boy doesn't let me hand go, he just holds onto, and pretends to read the writing on my wrist. I drop my head back against the couch with a sigh. Tai puts his head back, too and looks at me. Our eyes meet, and my head seems to clear. Tai leans towards me, then the door opens. Tai doesn't move away right away, but thankfully we're far enough down the couch that my dad can't see what we're doing. Tai moves away from my face, but does not release my hand. Which honestly, gives me butterflies. Twice now, he's gotten close to my face.

"Matt? Whose here?"

My dad asks.

"T-Tai."

The fear creeps back into my voice, because I just remembered my dad is mad at Tai.

"Why?"

I shiver. Tai's eyes are on me. I spin around, and climb onto my knees so I can see my dad. Never moving my hand from Tai's, of course.

"I h-had a b-bad d-dream, and you weren't a-anwsering your phone."

I lie. I hadn't even tried calling my dad. He's mood changes after that.

"Bad dream? About what?"

He asks, as he removes his shoes and jacket. I actually didn't think this far ahead.

"T.K."

It's the first thing that pops into my head. My dad says nothing. He walks into the kitchen with a brief hello to Tai. I get off the couch, and pull Tai with me, who comes without a fight. I freeze at my door, and look back at Tai, who smiles. I push the door open, not sure what I expect to see, but the room is empty. All sign of Them is gone. I relax a little bit as I fall onto my bed. Tai finally lets my hand go. Tai joins me on the bed. He rests his head on the palm of his hand, so he's above me. I don't know how to thank the brunette for coming when I needed him. I open my mouth to thank him, then close it. Then the brunette lips are against mine. I stiffen in shock, and before I can even asses what's actually happening, Tai's jumped off the bed.

"I have to go. I'll see you around."

The rejection is evident in his voice.

"Tai, wa-"

He's already gone. Tai doesn't come back to see me, nor does he return any of my calls for the rest of that week. I sleep less, eat less, and seem to get sicker everyday.


	12. Chapter 12

**I know it's been forever, so sorry! I've been visiting some friends for Easter break and have been busy! Reviews would be fantastic! (= Also, is it Jou, or Jyou? I've seen it both ways, and I'd like to spell it properly. So, if I'm spelling his name wrong, my bad! And I will fix it if I figure out what it's supposed to be. Orginally, I was going to have Matt move back in with his mom, but I don't know if I want that anymore. I know I'm already writing four stories, but I started writing a fifth, too. I don't know when I'll get around to posting it though. I kind of want most of these done before I do. I think.**

It's Monday at lunch time. I'm sitting with Sora, Mimi, Koushiro, and Jou. We're talking, apperently, about some test the other two males at table had just had. Different classes, and tests, but they both had tests. So that was the topic for today. Mimi and Sora's eyes drift to something behind me, and I spin to find a blonde boy, that could have very well been Yamato. Except he looked...dead. Almost. There was no shine to his hair, his eyes are down. He looks..scared. Which is something I've only seen once. And it was nearly a week ago. I haven't see him since last Tuesday, when I had kissed him. I was still a bit sore that he had rejected me. When he glances up, even his eyes are dull and lifeless.

"C-can I t-talk to y-you?"

He stutters. So he really is scared. At first, I want to say no. Sora gives me a nasty look though.

"Talk."

I say. It's better then nothing. He looks up at the tone of my voice with wide eyes, then his eyes dart to the other four sitting at the table.

"Are you feeling any better, Yamato?"

Sora asks to break the silence, which seems like a pretty stupid question to me. He shakes his head and gives her a weak smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

"No..My dad's having me transfered out. I'm going back to home schooling, since I can't seem to stay in class for longer then half a day."

That completely stuns me. And Sora, apperently cause her eyes widen in shock. The blonde shrugs.

"I should go...Sorry for bugging you guys. Bye, Sora, and the rest of you."

He says. He turns and starts walking away from us, when I decide I should talk to him. I jump up and race after the boy. He looks alarmed but seems to brighten a bit when he realises it's me.

"So?"

I ask him. Like I said, I am still a little bit upset, so I'm a bit harsher then I meant to be. He flinches at my tone. He opens his mouth, closes it, then opens it again. He sighs and looks down.

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

I ask, confused.

"I'm sorry. For..Tuesday? Or Wednesday? Whatever day it was when you came over."

I suddenly understand how cloudy is brain must have been to not know what day it was he had called me. It makes me feel bad for rushing away from him. We end up outside, beside the very same tree he had pushed me at two weeks ago. The blondes eyes are on his feet. He really does seem nervous. He glances up at me when I don't say anything. His eyes sweep the entire area, and he jumps when his name is called.

"Yamato, come on, sweetie!"

It's a womans voice. A bunch of different emotions cross his face. Anger, fear, confusion, pain, worry, excitment. He seems to settle on confusion. I turn to look at who had called him, but all I see his a blonde woman whose back is to us. Matt grabs my face and turns it towards me, which shocks me that he wanted contact with me without my bribing. He doesn't really seem to think about it, he just..kisses me once real quick, and walks away. I stand there, stunned. Did he really just do that?

Okay, so I had lied to Tai, Sora and the others. My dad isin't putting me in homeschooling, I'm forcing him to. There's no point in me going to a school where I get bullied, and can't even manage to last a day in. Why bother? I've always handled homeschooling before fine. I can do it now, too. However, today my mom is in town, and she is taking me back to her hotel, where I will hopefully be allowed to see my brother. Hopefully. If my mom isin't lying to me. Everything with her is fake. I'm not sick, I'm not unhappy, I'm not being bullied. In my mom's eyes I must be normal. Or I don't get to see T.K. Sitting beside my mother makes me nervous. I follow my mom to her hotel room, and of course, no T.K.

"You lied to me."

I say immediately.

"No, I didn't. But I know your games, Yamato. I have to make sure you're safe."

"I'm fine."

I snap.

"How do I know that? I just want to watch, and see.."

The door slams behind me as I leave the hotel room. I can't believe I fell for that bitches lies, again. My mom chases me out the door and calls my name, but I'm already watching the elevator doors close. When I get to the lobby, I run. I run all the way home, without stopping, and without looking at anyone or anything. I hop up the stairs two at a time, finally slowing down because I'm out of breath. I glance up, and find Tai, hand raised about to knock on my door. I unlock the door without saying anything to him, and he follows me in.

"Are you okay?"

Tai asks from behind me. I shrug.

"Just my mom."

I say. That should be it, and would be if it was my dad, but this is Tai, not my dad.

"What did she do?"

His questions are annoying me, and it takes all of my will power not to yell at him.

"She won't let me see T.K, because I'm sick."

"Well..."

Tai says, I glare at him.

"I know I'm fucked up. I do. But it's not contagious. T.K can't go crazy just because I am."

"You're not crazy, Matt."

I shoot a glance at him, and I can tell he really believes it. Time to prove him wrong. I go to my bedroom, and yank out my book, and give it to Tai, who had followed me. He looks through it, and I can see the shock grow on his face.

"I see those things everyday, Tai. And now, their talking to me!"

I can't help but laugh.

"Did you ever think that it's all the medication you take?"

"Huh?"

I ask, the question totally threw me off.

"I read somewhere that mixing too many meds can make you hallucinate...and stuff."

I had never actually thought about it, but it makes sense. However..

"How do you explain all the cuts and stuff?"

"I don't know, Matt. Just make a doctors appointment and see what they say. At least if you stop seeing things, you'll stop acting different. And then you'll get to see T.K, right?"

It's not excatly perfect, but I do want to see my brother, so I make a doctors appointment. Thankfully, I only have to wait until tomorrow. Hopefully, if Tai is right, and I pray he is, all this will go away. Since the appointment is in the morning, and my dad won't be here, Tai agrees to go with me.

"Good luck convincing your mom."

I tell him. He snatches the phone out of my hand and calls his mom.

"Hey mom. Matt has a doctors appointment tomorrow morning, and he doesn't want to go, so I'm going to skip school to go with him, okay?"

The tone of his voice says he's telling her more then asking her. But she agrees, as long as he makes the work up by the end of the week.

"What?"

He asks after he hangs up the phone.

"Your mom is cool,"

I say. Tai nods his head.

"Yea, she is. Anyone, since I'm kind of staying over, what're we gonna do?"

I shrug. I hadn't planned for anyone being over.

"Movie? Computer? I don't know.."

I'm completely lost on this, because really, besides that night had spent the night, no one has ever come over. Ever. I'm a freak.

"Let's just go walk..or something. I hate being inside."

Tai whines. I shrug.

"If you want.."

Although I'd rather not go outside, however, if that's what Tai wants, then I guess I will. Tai and I both put our shoes on and we just..walk. We don't touch, we don't look at each other, we don't talk..we just..walk and be together, I guess. It's almost dark when Tai looks at me.

"I think we're lost."

He admits. I sigh.

"Of course we are. Leave it to you.."

I mutter. Tai pouts, but doesn't anwser me. We turn back the way we came and try and find the way back to the apartment. Eventually, we do, but my dad is worried sick, and has called the police and reported me missing. Both Tai and I apologise both to my dad, numerous times. The police wouldn't do anything until it had been a full 24 hours, thankfully, so they were not actually involved yet. Dad orders food in because of how late it is, and even I eat a decent amount of food tonight.

"I have a doctors appointment tomorrow."

I inform my dad, Tai looks at my dad, he seems to be waiting for a reaction.

"Why?"

"Because someone mentioned that my medication mixing could be the reason for Them."

Tai's mouth drops at how freely I say it.

"Oh. Well, that seems like a good reason to go, I guess. It would be fantastic if this goes away just because of the wrong medication being mixed, huh?"

He smiles. I nod my head, and kind of look away. I hope that's all it is. I don't want to actually be crazy. I miss my brother so badly. Then I can shove it in my mom's face. That would make me feel much better, at least for awhile. And then, if she actually holds to her promise, I'll get to see my brother. I tap my fingers on the table, waiting for Tai to finish stuffing his face. After he's done, we head back to my room. I sit on my bed, and hide my face agaisnt my knees.

"What's the matter?"

Tai asks sitting beside me.

"What if I really am crazy?"

I ask. The bed shifts, and Tai wraps his arms around me, and cuddles me against his side.

"You're not. You don't act crazy."

That gets a laugh of me, which is cold and harsh. It doesn't affect Tai though, who just keeps me wrapped up in his arms.

"What if I can't functin without seeing Them?"

Tai huffs at me.

"You're going to be fine. You understand me, just fine."

Although he sounds like he's trying to convince himself for then he is me. I try to believe him, I really do, however..I just can't. I climb out of bed and dig through a box, pulling out my laptop. I open it up and we pick a movie out, and we watch it. I fall asleep about twenty minutes into the second one. My head is on a pillow in Tai's lap, and I don't even care of my dad comes in, because Tai makes me feel safe.


	13. Chapter 13

**Badoom! Way over due, I know, I'm sorry. I've been super busy. I went away for Easter, got back, and three days later left for another three days because my birthday was on the 8th, and I've been reading the Hunger Games books. Huzzah! Reviews are lovely!**

When I wake up it's still dark. The blonde is curled up against my side, his hand resting on my stomach. I think he's awake, because his hand clenches into a fist, but then he groans, and I know he's actually dreaming. Even though I have to pee really bad, I don't move. Doing so would wake the blonde up, and he needs more sleep then I have to pee. Dark circles are still under his eyes and they've slowly been getting worse. Today they don't look that bad. I wait, and wait, and wait. But eventually I just can't hold it anymore. I try and slide out from under the blonde, but in order to do that, I actually have to move him. I gently push him away from me, but his eyes snap open the second my hand touches his stomach. He scrambles away from me, eyes wide.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. He blinks away the confusion, and watches me.

"I'm about to pee myself! I was trying to move you."

"Oh. Sorry." The blonde curls back up on the pillows, only allowing me room to move without bumping him. I run to the bathroom, and don't bother with the door. I have to pee that bad. After I'm done, I crawl back into the bed. Matt is still facing the wall. Although it might not be a good idea, I wrap my arm around his waist and pull him against my body. He doesn't resist, which makes me think he's maybe sleeping.

"Matt?" I ask.

"Mhm?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yea," The blonde half rolls over in my arms, so that I can see his face. His eyes aren't filled with sleep anymore. He actually looks wide awake, but lost in thought at the same time. I nuzzle his cheek.

"Hey, don't." He protests, although he's got a teasing tone in his voice. I can't help but smile at him. His eyes drift somewhere over top of me, and I poke his stomach. His eyes instantly come back to me. He seems to get what I want, because he rolls over and faces the wall, so that he can't see whatever it is that's behind me. I look, but I see nothing. Of course I see nothing. I try to fall back asleep, which should be easy, but I can't. Matt sits up after what is probably a few hours. I groan. Then my stomach growls. The blonde looks at it, eyebrow raised.

"Time for food, I guess?" He asks. I nod my head. We leave his room together. The sun is just starting to come up. I watch the sky light up.

"Matt, look! It's pretty." I can't actually remember the last time I watched the sunrise. The blonde's not intrested though.

"I see the sun rise everyday, Tai."

"Seriously?" I can't believe that. He obviously sleeps less then I thought he did.

"Seriously. What do you want to eat, Tai?"

"I don't know." I anwser. Really, I don't. All I want is food. I hear the blonde sigh in annoyance, and cupboards open and close, and then I hear water. I enter the kitchen to find the blonde making what my mom would on a holiday. Bacon, eggs, pancakes.

"Yamato!" 's voice makes me jump and I nearly crash into the blonde.

"Tai!" I had forgotten that he only had one hand.

"Sorry!" I jump out of his way as comes into view.

"Why do you always make good food when I have to leave?"

"There's enough for you." And it's true. As plates are dished out, I notice he didn't make food for himself. I've actually noticed weird things about the blonde, although never thought twice about them until now. His lack of sleep, he hardly ever eats, the obvious, he sees things no one else does, and he's never scared. Except that one day. He's more upset then anything, too. When Matt leaves to shower and get changed I point this out to his dad. Mr. Ishida's eyebrow raises.

"You should see what's under his shirt."

"Huh?" The statement totally confuses me, and makes me blush.

"Bruises and scars. 'They' hurt him. Which is actually him hurting himself."

"What?" I yell. That's something I had never noticed.

"Not like..actually hurting himself. Just my tripping, or smashing into things.."

"Oh." I don't think I want to see with how clumsy the blonde actually is. We eat in silence after that. The boy is an awesome cook. When he comes back, he's just pulling his shirt over his head, so I to get to see some of his tummy, but it looks smooth to me.

"Money?" He asks his dad as he sits back down. His hair is still dripping and it's a mess. I can't see where he gets his style from.

"For?"

"Bus."

"I'll drive you." Matt shrugs. Which is his way of saying okay, I guess. He rans his fingers thorugh his hair, and very slowly it becomes the style I know.

"That's all you do?" I ask him, amazed. He nods his head.

"Is not hard." He says, distracted. His eyes are in the far corner, and I notice his dad looking in that direction before sighing. Matt's eyes snap to his dad, and they're filled with anger.

"You need to eat something, Matt." I say, which gets him to turn his attention on me.

"I will, After. They'll probably want blood tests or something stupid," The boy gets up and heads to his bedroom, and I don't see any of him until he reappears to say we have to go. We get into the car, and the ride is in silence. Matt's dad fills out all of Matt's forms, and I notice Matt has his backpack with him.

"What's that?" I ask.

"All my medication. I'd never remember all the names, or what they're for." He explains. I nod my head. I can't imagine what that would be like.. We sit in silence after. Seems to be a trend with Matt. Silence. And when his name is called, I can see what little color is in his face drain.

* * *

When my name's called, I think I'm going to be sick. I get to my feet and grab my bag, and debate on making Tai come, too. But weakness infront of anyone isin't really my style. I'm lead down the hallway to a room, and I sit and wait. My doctor is a female. Good, I don't trust males.

"Hi, Yamato. What can I do for you?"

She's unnaturally perky. I debate on just not saying anything, because they'll have to get my dad, then.

"I see things.." I mutter. The doctor's attention is on mine.

"What?"

"My friend seems to think it's a side effect from all the different medications I take."

"Well, what are you taking?" She asks. She's studying me. I hand her my backpack, and she opens it. She reads one bottle, before rising.

"Wait here, please." And then she leaves me. I sit in the room for probably ten minutes before she comes back.

"Your dad is waiting for you," And this is why I don't trust doctors. I grab my bag and leave, walking back to Tai and my dad. My dad looks angry, but not at me, and Tai looks worried. As we leave the doctors office, Tai's fingers lace through mine. The brunette holds onto my hand tightly. I don't know what happened, but neither of them seem to have liked it. I climb into the backseat with Tai, so that I don't have to let his hand go.

"Where do you live, Tai?" My dad asks. Tai gives him directions to his house. My dad starts the car, and heads towards Tai's house. When we get there, my dad gets out, too. I'm allowed to stay or come, my dad won't be that long. I chose to stay. Tai gives me a soft goodbye, and then he's gone. I climb into the front seat and sit to wait for my dad. When he comes back, he looks a little bit less angry then before. He gets into the car, but doesn't stop it.

"Yamato." He's using his serious tone. Fuck.

"What?"

"Do you remember Dr. Ramos?"

"How can I forget him?" I ask, annoyed. My dad never learnt the entire story with him, and he probably never will.

"Well, he's in jail. He was experimenting on kids with a new drug apperently. Side effect?"

"Hallucinations.." Fuck. Just my like, huh?

"So there's this lady that I'm supposed to take you to see, and she's going to help." I roll my eyes, but even I know not to fight this one. This needs to end. Especially if it is all because of some thereapist that used to beat up his patients.

"When?"

"Today. Like, now." I sigh. There's nothing I can do to change it.

"Fine." I snap. I personally feel this is too soon, and some warning would be nice, however, why fight it? My dad starts the car, and I wish Tai could come with me. Even if he wouldn't be allowed to come into the room when I talk to this lady. I turn the radio on, mostly so I can ignore the world.


	14. Chapter 14

**Taichi's point of view. I am trying to make these chapters a little bit longer. If I fail miserably, I apologise? I think I might be doing too much at once, and need to prioritize these stories. Or maybe not watch movies while I'm writing. Or you know, maybe go away for a long time and not do anything else but sleep. Hahaha. I know, this took for ever, Do I even have any fans left? I'm sorry guys. I will try and update lots. And, on top of the four posted stories, I'm writing two others. So, busy busy, and Im moving again. Haha! Life. Enjoy!**

Waiting for the end of the day is agonizing. I just want to get to the blonde, to ask him what happened. Although, I won't push him if he doesn't want to tell me. I've been counting down the minutes, and I only have three to go. I've paid no attention to anything else today, and Sora is very angry with me. Actually, so is Koushiro, and the soccer team. But that doesn't matter. What does matter is Yamato. The bell rings, and I'm gone, I make a brief stop at my locker, and jog to the blonde and his father's apartment. I didn't think Yamato was serious about the home-schooling thing. I knock on the door, and wait impatiently.

"Come in, Tai." The blonde calls. I rush in and kick off my shoes. I find the blonde at the dining room table, with a laptop, and books everywhere. The blonde is writing something down in a notebook. I peak at it, and find he's doing math.

"Uh.." He looks up at me. There's something..different. I tilt my head, and then I realise that his eyes don't have that glazed, sleepy look.

"You look..good." That's not the right word for the blonde, but close enough I guess. He smiles at me.

"Thanks. I guess." I push the blonde's school stuff out of the way and sit down beside him.

"I need to get that stuff finished," He says, although he doesn't sound like he wants to finish it.

"That's nice. What happened yesterday?"

"Nothing, really. She took me off my meds. Except one. Only it's a new one. It's supposed to help me get my appetite back. Or something like that." I wait for more, but the blonde doesn't offer anything else.

"And?"

"And what? I'm supposed to go back every week, but I don't want to." I frown at the blonde, who just looks away from me. I grab the bottom of his chair and spin it to face me, then pull it closer.

"Don't ignore me." I tease. The blonde raises an eyebrow.

"Are you going to tell me who this guy even is, or do I have to guess?" I ask. The blonde's face changes. I realise I may have pushed too far. The blonde pushes his chair back and stands up taking my hand, so I have to come with him. He pushes me onto the couch, in the corner, so my back is against the arm. He crawls into my arms and lays with his head against my chest.

"He was a therapist."

"Why'd you have to go see him in the first place, though?"

"My parents got divorced, and it was affecting me bad, I guess. My school said it might be good for me. At first it was okay. He put me on this thing..I guess it was like an anti-depressant for younger kids, only it was still in the test stages. Then he started asking things like what I was afraid of, or if I hated my mom..." The blonde kind of changes positions, but not really. It's more like he moves because he doesn't want to keep talking.

"And I was really scared of the dark back then, and he locked me in like, a closet sometimes our whole session. If you yelled, or said you were going to tell he'd hit you. Eventually I told my dad and I never went back, but by then I was already taking all this medication.."

"And no one ever took you off of it?"

"It took me a long time to actually admit to my dad that I was even seeing things. And by then we were both scared they'd take me away from him, and that my mom would have something else to use against him. Besides, how would we know it was his fault?" It's a lot to take in. I don't know how the blonde lived with this stuff. I wouldn't be able to do it. I don't think anyway. I guess I won't know unless something bad actually happens to me. I hug the blonde against me. What else am I supposed to do? What do I say?

"Matt," The blonde looks up at me.

"I think you should go back and see that lady. Even if it's just once or twice." Fear, anger, hurt and confusion all manage to settle in his eyes.

"Maybe it might be helpful to talk to someone who knows what to say. Cause I don't. I wish I did, but.." The blonde looks down and away from me, and I think he's going to pull away. He doesn't. But then he shoots out of my arms and sits on the other side of the couch. It makes me jump. The blonde turns the T.V on and flicks through channels. A second later his dad opens the front door.

"How the hell..." I whisper. Matt raises an eyebrow at me with a grin.

"I use my ears, unlike you," He whispers back. The blonde gets up and I follow him back to the kitchen. He flips his books closed and stacks them up, laptop on top.

"Hey boys." His dad greets as he comes out of the hallway.

"Hello ."

"Dad," We say at the same time. Yamato picks up his stack and heads in the direction of his room.

"Did he even finish?" His dad asks me. I shake my head.

"I interupted. Sorry." Then I scramble after the blonde. He's orginazing all of his school things at his desk. I close the door behind me, and walk up to him being as quiet as I can. The blonde reaches out and jabs my stomach when I'm about to touch him.

"Heard the door, Tai." I pout.

"You're no fun, Matt." The blonde stops fiddling with his stuff and turns to face me.

"Then why are you here?" He asks. It's not a serious question, but I think the anwser might really matter to him.

"Because I want to be with you." It sounded better in my head. The blonde raises and eyebrow.

"Uh-huh." He anwsers, then turns back around to finish whatever it was he's doing.

"I have a great idea!" I announce, before running to find his dad to ask, first.

"Tai! What idea?" Matt asks from behind me. He finds me at the same time I find his dad.

"Hello ."

"Hello Tai,"

"Can Matt come spend the night at my house tonight?"

"Wait. No. I don't want to." Matt starts from behind me. seems to think about it.

"I don't see why not."

"Dad!" Matt snaps.

"Don't dad me. You need out of this house, anyway. Besides, before your mother and I got divorced you and T.K spent nearly every weekend at Tai's house."

"That was then."

"Too bad, you're going." The blonde pouts at his dad, and I race to find the blonde's phone to call my mom. I think I've stayed enough to not ask permission to help myself to the phone or bathroom. The phone rings, and rings, and rings, and then finally someone anwsers. It's Kari.

"Hello Ya-"

"Hi, Kari. Is mom home? Can I talk to her?"

"Hello Tai. How're you? That's good, I'm awesome. MOM! It's Tai!" My sister says in one breath, yelling out the last part.

"Hello Tai."

"Hi Mommy. Is it okay if Matt comes over for the night?" I always add the 'mommy' part when I want something really bad. That's how I get it.

"Tai, it's a school night."

"But Mom..."

"Taichi Yagami.."

"But..but..I'm allowed to stay here on a school night, but he can't come to my house? That makes no sense." I protest. When my mom doesn't anwser, I realise I've won. The rest of the conversation is quick and easy, but my mother is expecting a guest for dinner. Hopefully I can convince Yamato to come without being too mad at me. The blonde is hiding in his bedroom. How he walked past me without me knowing is a mystery. He's angry with me. I can see it. Just by the way he doesn't look up at me when I enter the room. I stand infront of him, which he pretends not to see.

"I just thought maybe it would be nice for you to come to my house. Since I know your family, don't you think you should see mine?" The blonde shakes his head. I know he's already met Kari. But my parents want to see the blonde.

"Please, Matt?" I ask. Once again, I get a shake of his head.

"But...we can stay up all night and eat junk food, and watch scary movies and cuddle.." The blondes eyes shift towards me.

"Seriously. Lots of cuddling. No one will even care, either."

"Hmm," The blonde mumbles.

"And, and, and...Kari still has to sign your cast, anyway.." Matt raises his arm ever so slightly, and looks at the open spot he had reserved for her. Then he sighs.

"Fine.." I can hardly hear him, but I giggle as he gives in.

"Thanks, Matt!" After that, it's just a matter of getting his stuff, and his dad driving us. Which doesn't take too long, actually. Maybe twenty minutes. Matt doesn't say goodbye to his dad, but follows me up the stairs to my apartment. It's smaller then Matt's, but it's home.

"I have to share a room with my sister," I warn him. He shrugs. I push open the slightly open door with my food.

"I'm home!" I shout. There's a dull thud, which is probably Kari jumping off her bed, and a meow. Then, my sister, and 'my' cat come rushing around the corner. The cat's not actually mine, but she just likes me the most. She never leaves me alone, and always comes to greet me when I get home. Even though I don't like her all that much. I still haven't forgiven her for attacking me that once. Stupid cat.

"Tai!" Kari shouts, getting ready to throw herself on me, but then she's Matt and stops.

"Matt! You're here too!?" Her entire face lights up.

"He's spending the night," I tell her as I kick my shoes off. Matt doesn't move, so I push him, which makes him land on his butt. Then I pull his shoes off for him. Kari laughs.

"Don't be mean, Tai." She scolds me. I smile at her, then pull the blonde back up. Matt follows us out of the little hallway, and into the rest of the house. We end up in the kitchen, of course. My mother is cooking. I sniff the air. Matt actually looks paler.

"Mommy, what're you making? Matt, why do you look sick?" I ask. The second question has my mom jumping on the poor boy. I jump away from her, and Matt flinchs at her touch. Kari is the brave one, and tugs on her arm.

"Mom, leave him alone. I bet he's nervous, that's all." My mom lets the blonde escape her, and Kari takes his hand leading him away from her.

"Don't worry, Matt. She's super mom, I swear. Her heart is so big.." My sister rambles as she leads Matt to our room. I peak onto the stove to see what mom's cooking, and decide I can't figure out what it is, before heading towards my room, to find Matt and Kari. Kari is showing him all of her things, and he's smiling and nodding, and doing all the right things that a big brother knows how to do with their friends siblings. But he still looks pale, and kinda greenish.

"I didn't know people went green." They both look at me. Kari has a confused smile on her lips. Matt looks kinda dazed.

"Are you okay?" I ask the blonde. He kinda half nods.

"I don't think the medicine is working yet, that's all."

"It's the smell?" I ask, to which the blonde nods again. I was hoping Kari wouldn't understand what we're talking about, but she does.

"You gotta eat, or you'll get sick." Matt turns towards her, fake smile on his face.

"I know! I'll eat, I promise." I don't know if he's trying to convince me, her, or himself. No one argues though, and when my mom calls us for dinner, Matt does his best to eat, but even Kari doesn't seem pleased with the amount that enters the blondes mouth.

"Are you sure you're okay, Yamato?" My father asks. The introductions were very quick.

"Yes, sir. Sleep overs make me nervous." A lie. I saw the way his eyes move to me then back to my dad.

"You used to live here, I'm sure you'll be alright." My mom says it more like she just wants it to be true, and Matt nods his head. Although the blonde struggles to eat, he barely gets half the plate down, and my mother just takes it from him.

"Tai, go to the store and get something for desert?"

"Sure! Come on, Matt." The blonde doesn't protest, and I wait for him to get his shoes on. As we leave, my mom hands me money. More then usual, but that's okay. She wants to make Matt feel welcomed, I guess.

"What do you like for desert, Matt?" I ask him as we leave the building.

"I don't like sweets, really.." His voice is kinda distant. So, I do the only thing I can. I take his hand, lacing our fingers.

"It's okay. Nothing's gonna happen.." I try to reassure him. He smiles at me.

"I know. I just..still have nightmares, and don't want to..well.."

"Don't worry about it, okay?" He nods his head, and we walk, hands linked, to the store.


	15. Chapter 15

**Holy crap! Best idea ever for this story. I'm so stoked. Changed my writing, I'll be adding names to the beginning of someones point of view, makes shit easier. Also, I went back and fixed the rest of these chapters. Read & review.**

_Yamato_

After Tai and I had gotten back from the store, Kari, him and I were sitting around his table, 'eating'. I accidentally flung a little bit of food at him, and he had stared at me for a few seconds, before throwing some back at me. Then Kari got involved. And I hid under the table well they threw cake at each other. They didn't get in trouble, but they both had to have showers. So I cleaned the dining area for them. Since it was technically my fault, I have no complaints in helping. We are currently watching the end of a movie on the couch before we go to bed.

"What do you want for Christmas, Yamato?" Taichi's mom asks me. I glance over at her.

"Uhm. I don't celebrate Christmas." I say. If Kari had been awake I would have come up with something. However, the younger Yagami has been in bed for awhile. Although she did scribble on my cast before she went to bed. I have her name and a picture of 'Tai's' cat, in what was once an empty space.

"You must want something, though." Taichi says from my other side.

"I want to see Takeru." I say with a shrug. It's not really a Christmas wish. It's what I've wanted for years. I see Taichi nod out of the corner of my eye. His parents don't say anything else. Then I yawn.

"Come on, Yama. Let's go to bed." Taichi says cheerfully. I follow the brunette to his room, with a quick good-night to his parents. Taichi and I curl up together in his bed. I snuggle against the warmth of Taichi, and drift off. For the first time in..who knows how long, I sleep the entire night without a single problem. Although in one of my dreams, one of Them is present. The one from school that had helped me find my classes. Green-Eyes I think I named her. However, before I can figure out what the hell she wants, Taichi is shaking me gently and my eyes open to the real world.

"What?" I ask him, groggily.

"Your dads here. Says you guys are going away. Or something." I can hear the sadness in his voice. I sit up, no one told me we were leaving.

"Huh?" I ask stupidly. I can hear my dad speaking in the other room. I climb out of Taichi's bed, and over Taichi, and yes, the little slut in me makes me touch as much of his body with my own as I can. I follow my dads voice to him.

"Yamato. Come on, we're going to see Takeru and your mother."

"I don't wanna see her." I say. Sure, I didn't have to be difficult. But to be honest, I'm kind of mad at him.

"Well, you want to see Takeru." He says.

"Yes. But I won't get to see him. And we both know it." My father sighs.

"Stop being difficult. If you don't, I'm going to leave you here and you can celebrate Christmas with the Yagami's." He says, half turning towards the door. Fucking cheater.

"That's cheating!" I snap, before following my father, grabbing my shoes on the way. He laughs.

"Bye!" Taichi's mom calls.

"Bye." My father says back.

"Wait! Where are we going? How long are we going to be?" I ask, stopping at the door.

"We are going to try and get you see to Takeru. We should be back next week. Now let's go." I throw Taichi a glance, and he smiles at me. It's all I need. I follow my father down to our car in bare feet. He gets in, then I do. Most of the drive is silent. I already know my father has packed me clothes and stuff. I sit in thought. Wondering.

"Dad." I ask, finally needing to voice my thoughts.

"Hmm?" He says, although most of his attention is else where.

"Do you know why I don't like celebrating Christmas?" I ask. He spares me a glance at a stop light.

"Of course I do." I raise an eyebrow at him, wanting him to tell me the reason.

"It's because you can't celebrate it with Takeru." He says it so simply. Like he's positive he's right. He is. But..how does he know? I lean back and turn my head to look out my window, letting silence fill the car.

"Yamato.." My dad says. Something in voice tells me this will be a serious talk.

"Yea?" I say, instead of casually answering him like I would if I wasn't really paying attention.

"The real reason we're going is to fight for visitation rights. In court." I sigh. He doesn't have to say it.

"Mom's gonna say I'm crazy, isn't she?"

"Probably. And they'll want to mentally evaluate you. Your mother lov-"

"Loves me. I know. Or at least, I've heard you say it enough. It doesn't really matter though, does it? It's not like that stops her from hurting me." My father says nothing, and so I don't continue, although I do have much I'd like to say on this subject. At the hotel, I lock myself in the bathroom, and have a bath. It helps me think. After the bath, I go straight to bed. My dad doesn't stop me. He'd lose this fight, anyways. When I wake up, he's already gone. It's early. 6: 15 A.M the clock reads. I frown as I lay curled up in the hotel bed. What could he be doing this early? I decide I don't really care , and snuggle back up in the bed. Some time later, my dad returns, with food. I'm starving. It feels weird being hungry. I can't remember the last time I actually wanted to eat. I glance at the clock. 7:30. My dad hands me the fast food he had gotten for me, and I eat in silence.

"Are you going to come with me today?" He asks. I shake my head.

"If you need me come and get me. I don't want to listen to her put me down. I have enough depression issues to deal with as it is." I say. I realize after that I've informed my father that it still hurts when my mother insults me, but I doubt he'll use that against me. Half an hour later, my dad leaves. I sit alone in the hotel room, and wonder what the hell I'm going to do all day. I turn the T.V on, and watch a bunch of mindless shows. Who knows how many hours I stared at that screen, annoyed with the crap on it. But then my dad showed up. He looks pissed, and it kinda scares me. I know he's not mad at me, but the way he paces the room gives me shivers. When he finally calms down, he quickly recaps the whole court battle for me. Basically, if I am deemed mentally fit, we get Takeru every weekend. I get dressed, and fix myself, so that I at least look mentally sane, then we leave, to hopefully find out I am not insane.

* * *

_Hiroaki (Aka, Matt's dad)_

I watch my son glare at the therapist. She's deciding whether or not he's mentally fit to have Takeru home. It was supposed to be a Christmas present, although with the way things are going, I don't know if he's going to get it. I watch his eyes drift lazily across the room, following something no one else can see. Again, I wonder if the other people notice this, or if it's just be, because I know my son so well. After a morning in court, I wonder if Natsuko really does love her eldest son. And I wonder if it would hurt me or him more if she didn't.

"Well, Yamato. Why don't we bring your mother in?" My eyes come up in time to see him shrug. She had claimed he's violent towards her, and smaller children. Neither of which I had ever seen happen. Natsuko enters the room, and I notice Yamato's eyes widen. His hands move, as if to cover his ears, but they only raise slightly before dropping back down into his lap.

"Go away." He demands of his mother, looking away from her. He wants to run. I glance at the two other people standing with me behind the glass on the wall. Neither of them look impressed with this reaction. He gets his body tremors. Oh, no.

"No." She says. I can hear the smug sounding tone she uses. Another tremor shakes his body. She moves towards him. He jumps backwards, and throws the mirrored wall a glance. My feet move before I made the decision to do so. The fear in his eyes is not some thing I can ignore. Natsuko has her son cornered. His hands cover his ears, and his eyes are shut tight. He tries to take another step back, and hits the wall. He sinks down into a sitting position. The tremors that shake his body have increased in speed, and his body hardly sits still. I push past Natsuko, and cradle my son in my arms, which he allows.

"Shh." I try and soothe him. Apparently, he's not mentally fit.

"Daddy." He sobs. I can't even remember the last time he called me that. It's been at least ten years. It shocks me.

"Make her leave. Please." He begs, hiding his face against me. His tremors are different. Normally he just shakes and shakes. Today, his body goes stiff, and then there's a tremor, then his body relaxes, and does it all over again. I look up at my ex-wife, to tell her to leave, but it's too late. She grabs Yamato's wrist, the one that isn't casted, and tries to pull him away from me. Yamato screams. A piercing scream, one that says he's in agony. His entire body tightens and he becomes stiff, and he has a...seizure. Or a fit of some sort.

"Yamato!" I call, trying to make him relax, hoping my voice gets to him. His eyes are in the back of his head, all I can see are the whites. He's still shaking in my arms. I push Natsuko away, and the contact between them breaks. Yamato suddenly goes limp in my arms. His head hangs over one arm, and the hand Natsuko had used to try and pull him his hanging over the other. He's body is limp and lifeless in my arms. I hear a sob, but don't know if it's me or not. Then, an paramedics are there, trying to take my son from me. I release him, only because I know there is nothing I can do to help him this time.

* * *

_Taichi_

A ringing phone wakes me from my sleep. I yawn, and try to go back to sleep, but the phone just keeps ringing. Yamato has been gone since yesterday morning. I get out of bed, glancing at my alarm clock as I pass my desk. 3 A.M. Better be an emergency. I can hear my mother on the phone. I open the door, and follow the sound of her voice to her and my father.

"Oh! Of course you can." My mother says. There's another few words and she hangs up. I yawn.

"Who was that?" My dad asks. He sounds as annoyed and tired as I am.

"Hiroaki."

"What's the matter?" I ask, suddenly wide awake.

"I'm not sure. He's coming over. He was crying." Yamato's dead. It's the first thing I think. It makes me dizzy. As always, my mother reads my mind. She puts one hand around my waist, and takes one hand in hers, and leads me to the couch.

"I don't think it's that serious, Taichi." She tries to soothe me. It doesn't help. I'm still panicking. When there's a gentle knock on the door, my father lets Hiroaki in. He's no longer crying, but his eyes are red and raw.

"I'm very sorry. I didn't know who else.." He says, although he sounds distracted.

"Don't worry about it. Sit, and tell us what's wrong." My mother says softly. He sits immediately. His eyes land on me, then jump away. I want to scream at him.

"Well, we had the court battle, and Natsuko tried to say Yamato was violent..Which he's not. Normally." Hiroaki says. He's rambling. No one stops him, though.

"Anyways, they wanted to judge if Yamato was mentally stable enough to have Takeru in the house weekends. So I went to get him, and he was fine. And then...I don't know. Natusko touched him. And he screamed like he was dying...and.." He stops again. And again I want to scream. Just. Tell. Me. What's. Wrong. With. My. Yamato. I chew on my lip.

"He had this..seizure. I think that's what it was. He's in a coma." I squeak. At least he's not dead. My mother squeezes me gently. Hiroaki has tears rolling down his face again.

"I have temporary custody of Takeru, though." He adds. My mother latches onto this information.

"Do you get him tomorrow?" She asks. Hiroaki nods.

"Bring him over for dinner, okay? It'd be nice to see him."

"Yea..I'll do that.." I wonder if Hiroaki is stable enough to take care of Takeru. Then remember Yamato, and his issues, and obviously he'll be able to handle the younger blonde. I don't know what I did, or if I even moved, but my mother's arms tighten around me again. Then she stands, making me come with her. She leads me away, with no protest from either of the men in the room. She takes me back to my bedroom.

"Taichi, as hard as it is, I need you to try and go back to sleep. We'll go visit Yamato first thing tomorrow."

"School?" I mumble.

"You can skip. Sleep, okay?" I do as asked. I crawl back into my bed, and surprisingly manage to fall asleep. I sleep through the night without a single dream. I wake up to the alarm clock. Kari's already out of bed, and turning it off.

"Come on, Tai." She says softly.

"I'm not going. Mom said." Kari doesn't fight me. She just gets ready for school. Before she leave, she comes into the room. She gives me a hug, and a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see you later, Taichi." Then she leaves with my father. My mother comes into the room a few minutes later, which is when I finally get up. She doesn't need to say anything. I get ready, and we leave together. The entire half hour drive is silent. When we get to the hospital, I let my mother do the talking. I actually don't hear any of it. Then we're being lead down a hallway, and a doors opened, I can see the lumps on the bed, and I know it's Yamato. I take a deep breath before entering the room. My mom enters behind me. I approach the bed, and gasp in shock. He _looks_ peaceful enough. But his skin is ghostly pale, and he has an oxygen mask on. Wires are every where. His eyes kind of look sunken in. He's on life support, and that just makes me...I turn my head, and my mommy's there to catch me. She cradles my head in her arms, and I cry into her shoulder. Tears I've been holding since 3:30 A.M this morning.


End file.
